467. 1 
T751? 


Life  of  Ifcar  Admiral 
John  Randolph  Tucker 


Captain  James  Henry  Rochelle 


THE  LIBRARY 
OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER 


LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRALf 

JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER 

COMMANDER  IN  THE  NAVY  OF  THE  UNITED    STATES,  CAP- 
TAIN  AND  FLAG-OFFICER   IN  THE  NAVY  OF  THE  CON- 
FEDERATE STATES,  REAR  ADMIRAL  IN  THE  NAVY 
OF  THE  REPUBLIC  OF  PERU,  AND  PRESIDENT 
OF   THE    PERUVIAN   HYDROGRAPHICAL 
COMMISSION    OF   THE   AMAZON 

WITH  AN  APPENDIX 

CONTAINING  NOTES  ON  NAVIGATION  OF  THE  UPPER 

AMAZON  RIVER  AND  ITS  PRINCIPAL 

TRIBUTARIES 

By  CAPTAIN  JAMES  HENRY  ROCHELLE 

AND  CONTAINING  A  BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  THE 

AUTHOR,  AND    PORTRAITS    OF   ADMIRAL 

TUCKER  AND  CAPTAIN  ROCHELLE 


WASHINGTON 

THE  NEALE  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

431  ELEVENTH  STREET 

MCMIII 


COPYRIGHT,  1903, 
BT  MATTIE  K.  TYLER. 


CONTENTS. 


A  SKETCH  OF  THE  AUTHOR 9 

DEATH  OF  CAPTAIN  ROCHELLE 17 

PREFATORY   NOTE   .  18 


PART    I. 

THE  TUCKERS — BIRTH  OF  JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER. 

BOYHOOD — APPOINTED  A  MIDSHIPMAN  IN  THE 

UNITED  STATES  NAVY — FIRST  CRUISE — "THE 

ROARING  LADS  OF  THE  BRANDYWINE  " — PASSES 

^  EXAMINATION  FOR  PROMOTION — APPOINTED  A 

PAST  MIDSHIPMAN — PROMOTED  TO  THE  RANK 

OF  LIEUTENANT — MARRIAGE — MEXICAN  WAR. 

CAPTURE    OF    TOBASCO  —  COMMANDS    UNITED 

$!  STATES  BOMB-BRIG  Stromboli — MADE  A  COM- 

£}  MANDER — COMMANDS  UNITED  STATES  RECEIV- 

o  ING   SHIP  Pennsylvania — ORDNANCE   OFFICER 

AT  THE  NORFOLK  NAVY  YARD — RESIGNS  ON  THE 

'    SECESSION  OF  VIRGINIA 19* 


PART    II. 

APPOINTED  A  COMMANDER  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  NAVY — 
IN  CHARGE  OF  THE  DEFENSES  OF  JAMES  RIVER — 
TRANSFERRED  TO  THE  CONFEDERATE  STATES 


462896 


CONTENTS. 

NAVY — PLACED  IN  COMMAND  OF  THE  Patrick 
Henry — FITTING  OUT  UNDER  DIFFICULTIES — 
FIRST  PARTIALLY  ARMORED  AMERICAN  VESSEL. 
LIEUTENANT  POWELL'S  PLAN  FOR  ARMORED 
GUNBOATS — OFFICERS  OF  THE  Patrick  Henry — 
GUARDING  JAMES  RIVER — SCALING  THE  GUNS — 
"  NAVAL  SKIRMISH  " — A  FLAG  WHICH  WAS 
NOT  PRESENTED — BATTLE  OF  HAMPTON  ROADS. 
SINKING  OF  THE  Cumberland;  AN  AMERICAN 
Vengeur  —  BURNING  OF  THE  Congress  —  COM- 
BAT BETWEEN  THE  Virginia  AND  THE  Mon- 
itor —  FLAG-OFFICER  TATNALL  TAKES  COM- 
MAND OF  THE  CONFEDERATE  SQUADRON — SALLY 
INTO  HAMPTON  ROADS — PLAN  FOR  CARRYING 
THE  Monitor  BY  BOARDING  —  EVACUATION  OF 
NORFOLK — TOWING  UNFINISHED  GUNBOATS  TO 
RICHMOND— FEDERAL  SQUADRON  ENTERS  JAMES 
RIVER — CREWS  OF  THE  Patrick  Henry,  James- 
town AND  Virginia  MAN  THE  NAVAL  BATTERIES 
AT  DREWRY'S  BLUFF  —  ACTION  AT  DREWRY'S 
BLUFF — THE  Galena;  A  WELL-FOUGHT  VESSEL. 
REPULSE  OF  THE  FEDERAL  SQUADRON — TUCKER 
ORDERED  TO  COMMAND  THE  IRON-CLAD  STEAMER 
Chicora  AT  CHARLESTON — SUCCESSFUL  ATTACK 
ON  THE  BLOCKADING  SQUADRON  —  TUCKER 
POSTED  AND  APPOINTED  FLAG-OFFICER  OF  THE 
CHARLESTON  SQUADRON  —  COMMANDING  OF- 
FICERS OF  THE  CHARLESTON  SQUADRON — Du- 
PONT'S  ATTACK  ON  CHARLESTON — CONFEDERATE 
TORPEDO-BOATS  AT  CHARLESTON  ;  DAMAGE  DONE 
BY  THEM — CHARLESTON  NAVAL  BATTALION 


CONTENTS. 


7 


SERVING  WITH  THE  ARMY  —  EVACUATION  OF 
CHARLESTON  —  ONE  BATTALION  OF  THE 
CHARLESTON  SQUADRON  SERVES  WITH  THE 
ARMY  AT  WILMINGTON — TUCKER,  WITH  THE 
CHARLESTON  SQUADRON  BRIGADE,  MARCHES 
THROUGH  NORTH  CAROLINA  AND  ARRIVES  AT 
RICHMOND — TUCKER  ORDERED  TO  COMMAND 
AT  DREWRY'S  BLUFF — CONFEDERACY  AT  ITS 
LAST  GASP — EVACUATION  OF  RICHMOND — 
TUCKER  NOT  INFORMED  OF  THE  INTENTION  TO 
EVACUATE  RICHMOND — SUCCEEDS  IN  JOINING 
HIS  BRIGADE  OF  SAILORS  TO  MAJOR-GEN.  CUS- 
TIS  LEE'S  DIVISION — ACTION  AT  SAYLOR'S 
CREEK;  DIDN'T  KNOW  THEY  WERE  WHIPPED, 
THOUGHT  THE  FIGHT  HAD  JUST  BEGUN — SUR- 
RENDER— PRISONER  OF  WAR — RELEASED  ON 
PAROLE — EMPLOYED  BY  THE  SOUTHERN  EX- 
PRESS COMPANY 23 


PART    III. 

TUCKER  OFFERED  THE  COMMAND  OF  THE  PERUVIAN 
FLEET,  WITH  THE  RANK  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL — 
ARRIVES  IN  LIMA — No  PRECEDENT  FOR  THE  RE- 
TURN OF  MONEY — COMMISSIONED  A  REAR  AD- 
MIRAL IN  THE  NAVY  OF  PERU — COMMANDS  THE 
ALLIED  FLEETS  OF  PERU  AND  CHILE — SPANISH 
WAR— TUCKER'S  PLAN  FOR  A  NAVAL  CAMPAIGN  ; 
PROJECTED  EXPEDITION  AGAINST  MANILA — 
CESSATION  OF  HOSTILITIES  —  TUCKER  RETIRES 


8  CONTENTS. 

FROM  THE  COMMAND  OF  THE  FLEET,  AND  Is  AP- 
POINTED PRESIDENT  OF  THE  PERUVIAN  HYDRO- 
GRAPHICAL  COMMISSION  OF  THE  AMAZON — 
CROSSES  THE  ANDES  AND  REACHES  THE  AMA- 
ZON— EXPLORES  THE  YAVARI  RIVER — ORDERED 
TO  THE  UNITED  STATES  TO  SUPERINTEND  THE 
BUILDING  OF  AN  EXPLORING  STEAMER — RE- 
TURNS TO  THE  AMAZON  WITH  STEAMER  Tambo. 
EXPEDITION  UP  THE  UCAYALI  AND  EXPLORA- 
RION  OF  THE  TAMBO  RlVER — ORDERED  TO  THE 
UNITED  STATES  TO  PROCURE  A  STEAMER  OF 
LIGHT  DRAUGHT  OF  WATER — RETURNS  TO  THE 
AMAZON  WITH  STEAMER  Mairo — SECOND  EX- 
PEDITION UP  THE  UCAYALI — CANOE  EXPEDI- 
TION UP  THE  PACHITEA  AND  EXPLORATION  OF 
THE  PICHIS  RIVER — EXPEDITION  UP  THE  AMA- 
ZON AND  HUALLAGA  RlVERS — ORDERED  TO  LlMA. 

ORDERED  TO  NEW  YORK  TO  SUPERINTEND  THE 
CHARTS  MADE  BY  THE  HYDROGRAPHICAL  COM- 
MISSION— PUBLICATION  OF  CHARTS  ABANDONED 
ON  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  FINANCIAL  CONDITION  OF 
PERU — LETTER  FROM  PRESIDENT  PARDO — LET- 
TER FROM  MINISTER  FREYRE — TUCKER  RETIRES 
TO  His  HOME  IN  PETERSBURG,  VIRGINIA — OC- 
CUPATIONS AND  AMUSEMENTS  OF  OLD  AGE — 
DEATH  —  CHARACTER  AND  QUALITIES  —  CON- 
CLUSION   55 

NAVIGATION  OF  THE  UPPER  AMAZON 81 

CONCLUSION 112 


Life  of  Rear  Admiral  John  Randolph  Tucker 


A  SKETCH  OF  THE  AUTHOR. 


JAMES       HENRY       ROCHELLE, 

the  author  of  the  following  pages,  and  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  was  of  French-English  and 
Celtic,  or  Scotch-Irish,  extraction — English  through 
his  paternal  great-grandmother,  who  was  the  daugh- 
ter of  Hinchia  Gilliam,  and  his  wife  (nee)  Harrison; 
Scotch-Irish  through  his  maternal  ancestry.  The 
name  itself  proclaims  its  French  (Huguenot)  origin. 
It  is  well  known  that  when  Louis  XIV  revoked  the 
edict  of  Nantes  many  French  Protestants,  called 
Huguenots,  fled  from  their  homes  to  escape  persecu- 
tions worse  than  death.  About  forty  thousand  took 
refuge  in  England,  and  in  1690  William  III  sent  a 
number  of  them  to  America.  A  party  of  them  made 
their  way  up  the  James  river  and  made  a  settlement, 
which  they  called  Mannakintown,  or  "  Manacan,"  be- 
cause the  lands  formerly  belonged  to  the  Manacan 
Indians.  Feeling  that  they  no  longer  had  to  defend 
themselves  against  oppression  and  cruelty,  and  that  in 
a  free  country  their  religion  was  no  stigma,  the  char- 
acteristics of  the  race  came  out.  With  order  and 
work  Manacan  became  a  flourishing  town.  Among 
those  who  had  made  a  temporary  home  there  was 


10  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

John  Rochelle,  who  came  with  the  other  Huguenot 
exiles,  and,  if  Pope  be  right,  he  soon  enjoyed 

"  All  the  joys  of  sense — 
Health,  peace  and  competence." 

But  in  a  few  years  the  spirit  of  discord  entered  among 
these  exiles,  who  had  found  peace,  liberty  and  homes. 
The  three  Rochelle  brothers  sought  other  homes; 
William  settled  in  North  Carolina,  James  went  to 
South  Carolina,  and  John  bought  of  William  and 
Jonas  Longbottom  two  hundred  and  twelve  acres  of 
land  on  the  south  side  of  the  Nottoway  river  in  the 
then  parish  of  Albemarle.  Here  he  lived,  and  mar- 
ried Mary  Gilliam,  daughter  of  Hinchia  Gilliam  and 
his  wife  (nee)  Harrison.  They  had  issue  four  sons — 
John,  Levi,  Hinchia  and  Nathaniel.  John,  the  oldest 
son,  married  his  cousin,  Judith  Gilliam,  famed  for 
her  beauty,  and  they  became  the  parents  of  nine  chil- 
dren— Benjamin,  John,  Willis,  Clements,  Elizabeth 
(who  will  live  in  history  as  the  mother  of  the  famous 
soldier,  George  Henry  Thomas),  James,  Lucy,  and 
Mary. 

James  was  born  in  the  year  1786.  At  an  early  age 
he  entered  the  clerk's  office  of  his  county  as  deputy  to 
the  then  clerk,  Samuel  Kello.  In  1815  he  was  chosen 
clerk  and  held  the  office  until  his  death. 

On  the  I9th  of  April,  1817,  he  married  Martha 
(Hines)  Gray,  widow  of  Dr.  Henry  Mills  Gray. 
Many  children  were  born  unto  them,  but  only  three 
lived  beyond  the  early  years  of  infancy — John,  Mar- 
tha and  James  Henry. 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        11 

James  Henry  Rochelle  was  born  at  his  father's 
home,  near  the  Courthouse,  on  the  ist  day  of  No- 
vember, 1826.  His  boyhood  was  passed  in  the  refin- 
ing influence  of  a  Virginia  home,  of  the  period  when 
Virginia  was  the  garden  spot  of  America,  when  her 
daughters  were  the  "  mothers  of  Presidents "  and 
her  sons  were  statesmen,  "  Sans  peur  et  sans 
reproche." 

On  the  9th  of  September,  1841,  he  was  appointed 
acting  midshipman  in  the  United  States  Navy ;  served 
six  months  at  sea,  and  then  received  his  warrant  as 
midshipman.  During  the  war  with  Mexico,  young 
Rochelle  served  on  both  the  Falmouth  and  Decatur, 
in  the  gulf.  He  was  with  Commodore  Perry,  and 
participated  in  all  the  brilliant  exploits  of  the  naval 
forces,  and  remained  on  the  Mexican  coast  until  there 
was  added  to  the  United  States  a  territory  as  large  as 
Germany,  France  and  Spain,  all  three  added  together. 

In  September,  1847,  ne  reported  at  Annapolis,  the 
Naval  School,  and  was  one  of  the  245  midshipman  be- 
longing to  the  famous  "  Classe  41,"  which  passed  in 
1848.  He  was  at  once  ordered  to  the  frigate  Consti- 
tution, then  in  Boston  harbor,  ready  to  sail  to  the 
blue  waters  of  the  Mediterranean  and  the  sunny  coast 
of  Italy.  On  this  cruise  he  paid  a  visit  to  the  beauti- 
ful and  historical  Island  of  Malta,  and  here,  in  the 
very  cradle  of  Free  Masonry,  he  became  a  member 
of  that  ancient  institution.  He  saw  three  years'  sea 
service  before  returning  home. 

In  1852  the  United  States  Government  sent  a  naval 
force,  under  the  command  of  Perry,  to  open  inter- 


12  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

course  with  Japan  and  her  then  unknown  people. 
Rochelle  received  orders  to  report  for  duty  on  the 
ship  Southampton.  Perry  sailed  from  Norfolk  on  the 
24th  of  November,  1852.  With  great  judgment  and 
ability  he  rendered  his  mission  a  success,  and  sailed 
for  home  from  Linada,  in  Japan,  on  the  ist  of  Octo- 
ber, 1854,  and  after  an  eventful  voyage  reached  New 
York  in  the  spring  of  1855. 

After  a  home  leave  of  some  months,  Rochelle  was 
promoted  on  the  I4th  of  September  to  master,  and  on 
the  next  day  was  commissioned  lieutenant  and  as- 
signed to  duty  on  the  Coast  Survey  Squadron.  He 
assisted  in  the  survey  of  New  York  harbor,  Casco 
bay  and  the  Florida  reefs. 

His  next  cruise  was  in  the  expedition  to  Paraguay. 
Unfortunately,  few  of  his  many  letters  home  were 
preserved.  We  give  one  written  in  1859 : 

U.  S.  STEAMER  Southern  Star, 
MONTEVIDEO,  REPUBLIC  OF  URUGUAY, 

March  n,  1859. 
My  Dear  Mother: 

The  steamer  Harriet  Lane,  one  of  the  vessels  of  the 
Paraguay  expedition,  will  sail  for  New  York  on  to- 
morrow morning,  and  as  she  is  very  fast  I  have  de- 
termined to  write  by  her,  although  it  will  not  be 
long  before  we  follow  her  to  the  United  States.  We 
are  preparing  for  sea  now  and  expect  to  sail  on  the 
I7th  of  this  month  for  Norfolk,  touching  at  Per- 
nam'buco  and  Barbadoes  for  coal.  We  will  be  at 
home,  I  think,  by  the  2Oth  of  May  or  ist  of  June, 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        13 

though  it  is  possible  that  we  may  be  detained  longer 
than  I  expect  on  the  way. 

I  sincerely  trust  that  I  shall  find  you  all  well  at 
home,  and  that  I  will  have  a  long  leave  to  spend  with 
you.  I  wrote  you  in  my  letter  that  we  had  no  diffi- 
culty in  settling  our  affairs  with  Paraguay.  Lopez 
acceded  at  once  to  all  the  demands  which  were  made 
upon  him,  and  expressed  himself  gratified  at  their 
moderation.  The  health  of  the  squadron  is  excellent 
and  the  cruise  has  been  a  pleasant  one.  No  accident 
or  circumstances  have  occurred  to  mar  its  efficiency 
or  concord.  If  another  vessel  should  leave  in  time 
to  get  home  much  before  we  do,  I  will  write  again, 
but  I  doubt  if  such  an  opportunity  will  occur.  You 
must  not,  of  course,  write  to  me  again.  Give  my  best 
love  to  Sister,  Jimmy,  Letitia  and  Mattie,  and  my  af- 
fectionate regards  to  Mr.  Edwards  and  Major 
Shands. 

Ever  your  affectionate  son, 

J.  H.  ROCHELLE. 

To  follow  Rochelle  through  all  of  his  naval  life 
would  take  more  space  than  we  now  have  and  would 
be  to  repeat  scenes  and  events  already  dealt  with  by 
him  in  the  following  pages.  When  the  war  came  on  he 
was  serving  on  the  sloop-of-war  Cumberland.  Cap- 
tain Scharf  very  correctly  says :  "  It  required  no 
sacrifice  and  entailed  no  inconvenience  to  remain  loyal 
to  the  Union,  but  to  resign  from  that  service  involved 
every  consideration  which  might  deter  a  man  not  ac- 
tuated by  exalted  principles."  It  was  "  exalted  prin- 


14  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

ciples  "  which  caused  Rochelle  to  resign  his  commis- 
sion in  the  Navy,  where  he  had  served  with  honor 
and  advancement  for  twenty  years,  and  to  offer  his 
sword  to  his  native  State.  From  the  columns  of  the 
Richmond  Dispatch  we  quote : 

"  All  know  how  hot  and  furious  the  war  was.  The 
Anglo-Saxon  race,  the  first  and  foremost  people  on 
earth,  are  wise  in  counsel  and  fierce  in  war.  Fighting 
commenced  at  once.  Captain  Rochelle  was  placed 
under  the  command  of  Captain  Tucker,  on  the  James 
river,  on  the  war  steamer  Patrick  Henry,  and  with  the 
'Merrimac  fought  the  Monitor  and  wooden  fleet  of  the 
North  in  Hampton  Roads,  the  first  naval  battle  in 
which  armored  ships  were  used.  That  engagement 
covered  the  new  and  little  Confederate  Navy  with 
glory.  When  Norfolk  was  evacuated,  and  our  little 
wooden  fleet  fell  back  to  Richmond  after  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Merrimac,  which  could  not  be  carried  up 
the  James  river  on  account  of  its  great  draught  of 
water,  the  heavy  guns  of  the  Patrick  Henry  were 
carried  by  Tucker  and  Rochelle  with  great  difficulty 
up  on  Drewry's  Bluff,  and  aided  very  much  in  repuls- 
ing the  attack  of  the  Galena  and  other  Northern  gun- 
boats, who  hoped  to  carry  Richmond  by  a  coup  de 
main.  After  the  evacuation  of  Norfolk  and  the  penin- 
sula between  the  York  and  James  rivers,  the  siege 
of  Charleston,  S.  C.,  having  commenced,  he  was  sent 
there  and  soon  after  placed  in  command  of  one  of  the 
largest  iron-clad  steamers  in  the  Confederate  Navy. 
Here  he  remained  during  the  remainder  of  the  siege 
and  until  the  advance  of  Sherman  through  South 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        15 

Carolina  and  in  the  rear  of  Charleston  forced  the 
evacuation  of  that  vital  point  in  the  Confederacy.  His 
ship,  along  with  others,  was  destroyed,  and  he  re- 
turned to  Richmond  with  a  small  body  of  seamen, 
where  the  Southerners  made  their  last  stand  around 
Richmond  and  Petersburg  pro  ara  et  pro  fords.  On 
reaching  Richmond  he,  along  with  Captain  Parker, 
distinguished  alike  in  arms  and  letters,  were  placed 
in  command  of  the  Naval  Academy  and  cadets  which 
the  Confederates  had  established  there — an  arduous, 
important  and  distinguished  position.  He  remained 
in  that  position  until  the  evacuation  of  Richmond, 
when  he  marched  the  cadets  in  a  body  to  Washington, 
in  Georgia,  where  they  were  disbanded  after  the  cap- 
ture of  President  Davis  and  the  dissolution  of  the 
Confederacy. 

"  The  war  being  ended,  he  returned  to  his  ances- 
tral home  in  Southampton.  His  old  comrade-in-arms, 
Tucker,  who  had  been  at  one  time  Admiral  in  the 
Peruvian  Navy,  and  was  then  about  to  make  a  survey 
of  the  upper  Amazon  river  for  the  Peruvians,  sent  for 
him,  and  he  accepted  a  position  under  that  Govern- 
ment to  make  a  hydrographic  survey  of  that  vast 
fluvial  system  in  the  mountains  of  Peru  east  of  the 
Andes.  He  remained  in  Iquitos  three  years  and  then 
returned  home,  where  he  devoted  his  time  to  read- 
ing, letters,  and  the  society  of  his  friends.  He  was 
a  doughty  warrior  and  soldier,  and  from  the  be- 
ginning loved  a  career  of  arms.  He  sorrowed 
over  the  rupture  of  the  Government,  but  when  his 
State  went  out  he  nobly  stood  by  her;  went  to  the 


16  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

front,  and  never  grounded  his  arms  until  there  was 
nothing  left  to  fight  for.  He  knew  to  win  would 
bring  honor  and  safety,  and  failure  would  make  him  a 
rebel,  and  while  success  on  the  Northern  side  gave 
to  many  of  his  old  comrades  in  arms  on  that  side 
marble  and  bronze  statues  in  the  new  Pantheon  at 
Washington,  yet  with  the  courage  of  his  convictions, 
in  disaster  his  only  regret  was  that  he  did  not  win. 
Of  such  stern  stuff  are  the  cavaliers  of  Virginia 
made,  and  such  as  these  are  yet  to  lift  her  from  the 
dust  and  crown  their  old  mother  again  with  glory." 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.  17 


"  DEATH  OF  CAPT.  JAMES  H.  ROCHELLE. 

"COURTLAND,  SOUTHAMPTON  COUNTY, 

"  April  3,  1889. 

"  On  the  morning  of  the  3ist  of  March,  after  an 
illness  of  only  one  day,  this  county,  and  his  many 
friends,  met  with  a  heavy  loss  in  the  death  of  Capt. 
James  Henry  Rochelle.  This  distinguished  soldier 
was  a  veteran  of  two  wars.  Euripides,  I  think  it 
was,  said  no  man  should  be  called  fortunate  or  happy 
until  he  had  been  placed  with  his  good  name  by 
death  beyond  the  reach  of  accident  or  change.  Then, 
indeed,  is  this  noble  soldier  happy,  for  he  lived  with- 
out reproach  and  died  without  fear.  Another  noble 
son  of  Virginia  has  gone  down  below  the  horizon  of 
time,  but  his  name  will  be  held  in  sweet  remembrance 
by  his  old  comrades  and  his  memory  cherished  and 
honored  by  his  kinsmen." 


Life  of  Rear  Admiral  John  Randolph  Tucker 


BY  JAMES  HENRY  EOCHELLE. 


PREFATORY  NOTE. 

IN   writing  this  biographical   sketch   I  have  per- 
formed not  a  task,  but  a  labor  of  love,  for  I  was, 
during  many  years,  both  in  times  of  peace  and  of 
war,  intimately  associated  with   the    distinguished 
sailor  whose  career  I  have  attempted  to  trace. 

The  appendix  was  added  in  consequence  of  letters 
I  received  asking  for  information  in  regard  to  the 
navigation  of  the  upper  Amazon  river  and  its  tribu- 
taries, a  highway  for  commerce  destined  to  be  much 
better  known  in  the  near  future  than  it  is  at  present. 

J.  H.  R. 

COURTLAND,  VIRGINIA, 

July  i,  1888. 


PART    I. 

THE  TUCKERS — BIRTH  OF  JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER. 
BOYHOOD — APPOINTED  A  MIDSHIPMAN  IN  THE 
UNITED  STATES  NAVY — FIRST  CRUISE — "  THE 
ROARING  LADS  OF  THE  BRANDYWINE  " — PASSES 
EXAMINATION  FOR  PROMOTION — APPOINTED  A 
PAST  MIDSHIPMAN — PROMOTED  TO  THE  RANK 
OF  LIEUTENANT — MARRIAGE — MEXICAN  WAR. 
CAPTURE  OF  TOBASCO  —  COMMANDS  UNITED 
STATES  BOMB-BRIG  Stromboli — MADE  A  COM- 
MANDER— COMMANDS  UNITED  STATES  RECEIV- 
ING SHIP  Pennsylvania — ORDNANCE  OFFICER 
AT  THE  NORFOLK  NAVY  YARD — RESIGNS  ON  THE 
SECESSION  OF  VIRGINIA. 

During  the  first  years  of  the  present  century  John 
Tucker,  of  the  Island  of  Bermuda,  came  to  Virginia, 
where  resided  many  of  his  kinsmen,  a  branch  of  the 
Tucker  family  having  settled  in  Virginia  prior  to  the 
War  of  the  Revolution.  The  family  has  produced  a 
number  of  gifted  men  who  have  been  honorably 
prominent  in  the  political  and  social  life  of  the  State, 
but  no  member  of  it  has  been  more  distinguished  or 
more  esteemed  than  the  subject  of  the  present 
sketch. 

John  Randolph  Tucker  was  born  on  the  3ist  day  of 
January,  1812,  at  Alexandria,  near  Washington,  on 


20  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

the  Virginia  side  of  the  Potomac  river,  in  which  city 
his  father  had  made  his  home  and  had  there  married 
Miss  Susan  Douglas,  the  daughter  of  Dr.  Charles 
Douglas,  an  English  physician,  who  emigrated  to 
America  soon  after  the  Revolution. 

Young  Tucker  received  his  early  education  in  the 
good  private  schools  of  his  native  city,  which  he  con- 
tinued to  'attend  until  he  entered  the  United  States 
Navy  as  a  midshipman  on  the  ist  of  June,  1826, 
being  then  in  the  fifteenth  year  of  his  age. 

The  profession  upon  which  he  entered  was  one 
for  which  he  was  by  nature  peculiarly  adapted,  and  to 
the  end  of  his  days  he  loved  the  sea  and  all  that  was 
connected  with  the  life  of  a  sailor.  It  has  been  said 
of  a  great  admiral  that  he  could  perform  with  his 
own  hands  the  duties  of  every  station  on  board  a 
ship-of-war,  from  seaman-gunner  to  admiral,  and  the 
same  may  be,  without  exaggeration,  said  of  Tucker. 

He  was  fortunate  in  beginning  his  naval  career  on 
the  Mediterranean  Station,  where  he  made  his  first 
cruise  in  the  frigate  Brandywine.  Before  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis  the  best 
school  for  training  a  cadet  in  the  etiquette,  spirit  and, 
perhaps,  even  in  the  seamanship  of  the  service,  was  a 
smart  frigate  of  the  Mediterranean  Squadron.  If  we 
may  trust  the  traditions  which  have  been  handed 
down  to  us  in  song  and  story  about  "  the  roaring  lads 
of  the  Brandywine,"  the  training  on  board  the  ship 
in  which  Tucker  first  served  was  well  calculated  to 
develop  all  that  was  dashing  and  daring  in  the  young 
gentlemen  of  her  steerage  mess. 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        21 

After  six  years'  service  as  a  midshipman,  Tucker 
passed  the  requisite  examination  for  promotion,  but 
he  had  to  wait  for  his  turn  to  fill  a  vacancy,  and,  con- 
sequently, was  not  promoted  to  the  rank  of  lieutenant 
until  the  2Oth  of  December,  1837.  As  a  lieutenant, 
he  made  a  good  deck  officer  and  a  very  excellent  exec- 
utive or  first-lieutenant.  In  the  latter  capacity  he 
served  on  board  the  bomb-brig  Stromboli,  in  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  during  the  war  between  Mexico  and  the 
United  States.  The  Stromboli  was  actively  employed, 
and  Tucker  participated  in  the  capture  of  Tobasco 
and  other  naval  operations  against  the  enemy.  Dur- 
ing the  latter  part  of  the  war  Tucker  succeeded  to 
the  command  of  the  Stromboli  as  Lieutenant-Com- 
manding, retaining  the  command  until  the  cessation 
of  hostilities. 

His  last  cruise  whilst  belonging  to  the  United 
States  Navy  was  made  as  executive  officer  of  the 
frigate  Cumberland,  the  flag-ship  of  Flag-Officer 
Stringham,  on  the  Mediterranean  Station,  thus  end- 
ing his  active  service  in  the  United  States  Navy  where 
it  began,  after  an  interval  of  thirty  years. 

Soon  after  his  promotion  to  a  lieutenancy  Tucker 
was  married,  at  Norfolk,  Virginia,  on  the  /th  of  June, 
1838,  to  Virginia,  daughter  of  Captain  Thomas  Tarle- 
ton  Webb,  of  the  United  States  Navy.  This  union 
was,  uninterruptedly,  most  happy  and  harmonious 
until  it  was  dissolved  by  the  death  of  Mrs.  Tucker  in 
1858.  She  left  several  children,  three  of  whom — 
Randolph  Tucker,  of  Richmond,  Virginia ;  Tarleton 
Webb  Tucker,  of  Memphis,  Tennessee;  and  Virginius 


LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

Tucker,  of  Norfolk,  Virginia — are  now  living  and 
prospering. 

On  September  I4th,  1855,  Tucker  received  his  com- 
mission as  a  Commander,  and  at  the  same  time  was 
ordered  to  command  the  Pennsylvania,  an  old  three- 
decker  ship-of-the-line  which  was  in  commission  as 
receiving-ship  at  Norfolk.  His  next  duty  was  as 
Ordnance  Officer  of  the  Norfolk  Navy  Yard,  and  it 
was  whilst  he  was  employed  on  this  duty  that  the  se- 
cession of  Virginia  caused  him  to  forward  his  resig- 
nation to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

There  is  no  intention  of  discussing  in  this  bio- 
graphical sketch  the  questions  which  were  in  contro- 
versy between  the  Northern  and  Southern  States  until 
they  were  finally  settled  by  the  arbitrament  of  arms ; 
it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  nothing  but  the  sincerest 
conviction  that  the  highest  duty  required  the  sacrifice 
could  have  induced  an  officer  in  Tucker's  position  to 
leave  an  established  and  an  illustrious  navy  to  enter 
the  service  of  a  people  who  had  neither  ships  nor 
sailors. 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        23 


PART  II. 

APPOINTED  A  COMMANDER  IN  THE  VIRGINIA  NAVY — 
IN  CHARGE  OF  THE  DEFENSES  OF  JAMES  RIVER — 
TRANSFERRED  TO  THE  CONFEDERATE  STATES 
NAVY — PLACED  IN  COMMAND  OF  THE  Patrick 
Henry — FITTING  OUT  UNDER  DIFFICULTIES — 
FIRST  PARTIALLY  ARMORED  AMERICAN  VESSEL. 
LIEUTENANT  POWELL'S  PLAN  FOR  ARMORED 
GUNBOATS — OFFICERS  OF  THE  Patrick  Henry — 
GUARDING  JAMES  RIVER — SCALING  THE  GUNS — 
"  NAVAL  SKIRMISH  " — A  FLAG  WHICH  WAS 
NOT  PRESENTED — BATTLE  OF  HAMPTON  ROADS. 
SINKING  OF  THE  Cumberland;  AN  AMERICAN 
Vengeur  —  BURNING  OF  THE  Congress  —  COM- 
BAT BETWEEN  THE  Virginia  AND  THE  Mon- 
itor—  FLAG-OFFICER  TATNALL  TAKES  COM- 
MAND OF  THE  CONFEDERATE  SQUADRON — SALLY 
INTO  HAMPTON  ROADS — PLAN  FOR  CARRYING 
THE  Monitor  BY  BOARDING  —  EVACUATION  OF 
NORFOLK — TOWING  UNFINISHED  GUNBOATS  TO 
RICHMOND— FEDERAL  SQUADRON  ENTERS  JAMES 
RIVER — CREWS  OF  THE  Patrick  Henry,  James- 
town AND  Virginia  MAN  THE  NAVAL  BATTERIES 
AT  DREWRY'S  BLUFF  —  ACTION  AT  DREWRY'S 
BLUFF — THE  Galena;  A  WELL-FOUGHT  VESSEL. 
REPULSE  OF  THE  FEDERAL  SQUADRON — TUCKER 
ORDERED  TO  COMMAND  THE  IRON-CLAD  STEAMER 


24  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

Chicora  AT  CHARLESTON — SUCCESSFUL  ATTACK 
ON  THE  BLOCKADING  SQUADRON  —  TUCKER 
POSTED  AND  APPOINTED  FLAG-OFFICER  OF  THE 
CHARLESTON  SQUADRON  —  COMMANDING  OF- 
FICERS OF  THE  CHARLESTON  SQUADRON — Du- 
PONT'S  ATTACK  ON  CHARLESTON — CONFEDERATE 
TORPEDO-  BOATS  AT  CHARLESTON  ;  DAMAGE  DONE 
BY  THEM — CHARLESTON  NAVAL  BATTALION 
SERVING  WITH  THE  ARMY  —  EVACUATION  OF 
CHARLESTON  —  ONE  BATTALION  OF  THE 
CHARLESTON  SQUADRON  SERVES  WITH  THE 
ARMY  AT  WILMINGTON — TUCKER,  WITH  THE 
CHARLESTON  SQUADRON  BRIGADE,  MARCHES 
THROUGH  NORTH  CAROLINA  AND  ARRIVES  AT 
RICHMOND — TUCKER  ORDERED  TO  COMMAND 
AT  DREWRY'S  BLUFF — CONFEDERACY  AT  ITS 
LAST  GASP — EVACUATION  OF  RICHMOND — 
TUCKER  NOT  INFORMED  OF  THE  INTENTION  TO 
EVACUATE  RICHMOND — SUCCEEDS  IN  JOINING 
HIS  BRIGADE  OF  SAILORS  TO  MAJOR-GEN.  CUS- 
TIS  LEE'S  DIVISION — ACTION  AT  SAYLOR'S 
CREEK;  DIDN'T  KNOW  THEY  WERE  WHIPPED, 
THOUGHT  THE  FIGHT  HAD  JUST  BEGUN — SUR- 
RENDER— PRISONER  OF  WAR — RELEASED  ON 
PAROLE — EMPLOYED  BY  THE  SOUTHERN  EX- 
PRESS COMPANY. 

Tucker  was  appointed  a  Commander  in  the  Vir- 
ginia Navy,  with  rank  from  the  date  of  the  commis- 
sion in  the  United  States  Navy  which  he  had  re- 
signed. He  was  at  first  assigned  by  the  Governor 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        25 

to  the  defense  of  James  river,  but  in  a  short  time  was 
ordered  to  assume  command  of  the  steamer  Patrick 
Henry. 

When  Virginia  became  one  of  the  Confederate 
States,  all  the  officers  of  the  Virginia  Navy  were 
transferred  to  the  Confederate  States  Navy,  with  the 
same  rank  they  had  held  in  the  United  States  Navy. 
The  Patrick  Henry  was  also  transferred  by  the  State 
of  Virginia  to  the  Confederate  States.  This  vessel 
was  a  paddle-wheel  steamer  of  about  1,400  tons  bur- 
then; she  was  called  the  Yorktown  before  the  war, 
and  was  one  of  a  line  of  steamers  running  between 
Richmond  and  New  York;  she  was  reputed  to  be  a 
fast  boat,  and  deserved  the  reputation. 

When  Virginia  seceded  this  vessel  was  in  James 
river,  and,  together  with  her  sister  steamer  James- 
town, of  the  same  line,  was  seized  by  the  authorities 
of  the  State,  taken  up  to  the  Rockett's  wharf,  at 
Richmond,  and  the  command  conferred,  as  has  been 
said,  upon  Commander  Tucker;  this  assignment  of 
duty  being  afterwards  confirmed  by  the  Secretary  of 
the  Confederate  States  Navy.  Naval  Constructor 
Joseph  Pearse,  with  a  number  of  mechanics  from 
the  Norfolk  Navy  Yard,  who  had  been  brought  to 
Richmond  for  the  purpose,  commenced  the  neces- 
sary alterations,  which  had  previously  been  deter- 
mined upon,  and  in  a  short  time  the  passenger 
steamer  Yorktown  was  converted  into  the  very  cred- 
itable man-of-war  Patrick  Henry,  of  12  guns  and 
one  hundred  and  fifty  officers  and  men.  Lieutenant 
William  Llewellyn  Powell,  who  soon  afterwards  re- 


26  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

signed  from  the  Navy,  entered  the  Army  as  Colonel 
of  Artillery,  and  died  a  Brigadier-General  at  Fort 
Morgan  before  its  fall,  was  her  executive  officer 
while  she  was  being  fitted  out,  and  to  him,  as  well 
as  to  Constructor  Joseph  Pearse,  much  credit  is 
due  for  having  made  her  as  serviceable  as  she  was 
for  purposes  of  war.  Her  spar-deck  cabins  were 
removed,  and  her  deck  strengthened  so  as  to  enable 
it  to  bear  a  battery.  Her  boilers  were  slightly  pro- 
tected by  iron  plates  one  inch  in  thickness.  V- 
shapped  iron  shields  on  the  spar-deck,  forward  and 
aft  of  her  engines,  afforded  some  protection  to  the 
machinery,  but  none  to  the  walking  beams,  which 
rose  far  above  the  hurricane-deck.  It  is  probable 
that  Lieutenant  Powell  suggested  the  first  Ameri- 
can attempt  to  protect  steamers  with  iron  armor, 
unless  the  Stevens  floating-battery,  which  was  so 
long  building  at  Hoboken  for  the  United  States, 
was  such  an  attempt.  It  is  known  that  Powell  for- 
warded, during  the  summer  of  1861,  plans  to  the 
Confederate  Navy  Department  for  converting  river 
craft  and  canal  boats  into  iron-clad  gunboats. 

The  armament  of  the  Patrick  Henry  consisted  of 
ten  medium  32-pounders  in  broadside,  one  ten-inch 
shell  gun  pivoted  forward,  and  one  eight-inch  solid- 
shot  gun  pivoted  aft.  The  eight-inch  solid-shot  gun 
was  the  most  effective  gun  on  board,  and  did  good 
service  both  at  the  battle  of  Hampton  Roads  and 
the  repulse  of  the  Federal  squadron  at  Drewry's 
Bluff.  The  captain  of  this  gun  was  an  excellent 
seaman-gunner  named  Smith,  who  was  afterwards 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        27 

promoted  to  be  a  boatswain  in  the  C.  S.  Navy.  A 
few  weeks  before  the  battle  of  Hampton  Roads  two 
of  the  medium  32-pounders  were  exchanged  for  two 
six-inch  guns,  banded  and  rifled,  a  gun  much  used 
in  the  Confederate  Navy,  and  effective,  though  far 
inferior  to  the  six-inch  rifled  guns  of  the  present 
day. 

The  Patrick  Henry  was  rigged  as  a  brigantine, 
square  yards  to  the  foremast  and  fore-and-aft  sails 
alone  to  the  mainmast.  At  Norfolk,  when  she  was 
about  to  be  employed  in  running  by  the  batteries 
of  Newport  News  at  night,  it  was  thought  best  to 
take  both  of  her  masts  out  in  order  to  make  her 
less  liable  to  be  discovered  by  the  enemy.  Signal 
poles,  carrying  no  sails,  were  substituted  in  their 
place. 

No  list  of  the  officers  of  the  Patrick  Henry  at  the 
time  she  went  into  commission  can  now  be  given, 
but  the  following  is  a  list  of  those  on  board  at  the 
battle  of  Hampton  Roads,  so  far  as  can  be  ascer- 
tained: 

Commander  John  Randolph  Tucker,  commander; 
Lieutenant  James  Henry  Rochelle,  executive  offi- 
cer; Lieutenants  William  Sharp  and  Francis  Lyell 
Hoge ;  Surgeon  John  T.  Mason ;  Paymaster  Thomas 
Richmond  Ware;  Passed  Assistant  Surgeon  Fred- 
erick Garretson;  Acting  Master  Lewis  Parrish; 
Chief  Engineer  Hugh  Clark;  Lieutenant  of  Marines 
Richard  T.  Henderson;  Midshipmen  John  Tyler 
Walker,  Alexander  McComb  Mason,  and  M.  P. 
Goodwyn. 


28  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

The  vessel,  being  properly  equipped,  so  far  as  the 
limited  resources  at  hand  could  be  used,  proceeded 
down  James  river  and  took  a  position  off  Mulberry 
Island,  on  which  point  rested  the  right  of  the  Army 
of  the  Peninsula,  under  Magruder.  The  time  passed 
wearily  and  drearily  enough  whilst  the  Patrick 
Henry  lay  at  anchor  off  Mulberry  Island.  The  offi- 
cers and  crew  very  rarely  went  on  shore,  the  steam- 
er being  kept  always  with  banked  fires,  prepared  to 
repel  an  attack,  which  might  have  been  made  at 
any  moment,  the  Federal  batteries  at  Newport 
News  and  the  vessels  stationed  there,  the  frigate 
Savannah,  sloop  Cumberland,  and  steamer  Louisi- 
ana, being  about  fourteen  miles  distant. 

To  relieve  the  monotony  of  the  irksome  duty  on 
which  the  Patrick  Henry  was  employed,  Tucker  de- 
termined to  take  her  down  the  river,  feel  of  the 
enemy,  and  warn  him  of  what  might  be  expected 
if  boat  expeditions  should  attempt  to  ascend  the 
river.  On  the  afternoon  of  Friday,  September  I3th, 
1861,  the  Patrick  Henry  weighed  her  anchor  at  Mul- 
berry Island,  and  steamed  down  James  river  to- 
wards Newport  News.  Choosing  her  distance  from 
that  point,  she  opened  fire  upon  the  Federal  squad- 
ron, which  was  promptly  returned,  principally  by 
the  Savannah,  Louisiana,  and  a  battery  of  light  artil- 
lery, which  had  been  moved  up  the  left  bank  of  the 
river.  After  giving  the  crew  a  good  exercise  at 
their  guns,  the  Patrick  Henry  was  steamed  back  to 
her  anchorage  off  Mulberry  Island. 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        29 

About  the  last  of  November,  Tucker  received  in- 
formation that  one  or  two  of  the  Federal  gunboats 
came  up  the  river  every  night  and  anchored  about 
a  mile  and  a  half  above  their  squadron  at  Newport 
News.  Hoping  to  be  able  to  surprise  and  capture 
these  boats,  the  commander  of  the  Patrick  Henry 
got  her  underway  at  4  o'clock  A.  M.  on  December 
2d,  1 86 1.  The  morning  was  dark  and  suitable  for 
the  enterprise,  and  all  lights  on  board  the  Patrick 
Henry  were  either  extinguished  or  carefully  con- 
cealed. No  vessel  of  the  enemy  was  met  with  in 
the  river,  but  at  daylight  four  steamers  were  dis- 
covered, lying  at  anchor  near  the  frigate  Congress 
and  sloop  Cumberland,  off  the  batteries  of  Newport 
News.  As  the  Patrick  Henry  could  not  have  re- 
turned unseen,  Tucker  took  a  position  about  a  mile 
distant  from  the  batteries,  and  opened  on  the  Fed- 
eral vessels  with  his  port  battery  and  pivot  guns. 
The  fire  was  promptly  returned,  many  of  the  shots 
from  the  rifled  guns  passing  over  the  Patrick  Henry, 
and  one,  going  through  her  pilot-house  and  lodging 
in  the  starboard  hammock-netting,  did  some  injury 
to  the  vessel,  besides  wounding  slightly  one  of  the 
pilots  and  a  seaman  by  the  splinters  it  caused.  The 
skirmish,  if  such  a  term  can  be  applied  to  a  naval 
operation,  lasted  about  two  hours,  during  which 
time  the  Patrick  Henry  fired  twenty-eight  shells  and 
thirteen  solid  shots,  but  with  what  effect  on  the  en- 
emy is  not  known.  From  this  best  kind  of  drill 
practice,  the  Confederate  steamer  returned  to  her 
anchorage  off  Mulberry  Island,  continued  her  guard 


30  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

of  the  river,  and  waited  for  some  opportunity  for 
more  active  employment. 

In  February,  1862,  the  ladies  of  Charles  City,  a 
county  bordering  on  James  river,  desired  to  present 
to  the  Patrick  Henry  a  flag  which  they  had  made 
for  'her  as  an  evidence  of  their  appreciation  of  her 
services  in  keeping  boat  expeditions  and  the  ene- 
my's small  steamers  from  ascending  the  river.  But 
the  presentation  of  this  flag  did  not  take  place;  the 
C.  S.  steamers  Jamestown,  2,  and  Teaser,  v,  had  rein- 
forced the  Patrick  Henry,  and  such  incessant  prepa- 
rations were  going  on  that  no  time  could  be  spared 
for  the  ceremony.  The  occasion  of  these  prepara- 
tions was  the  expectation  of  being  soon  engaged  in 
the  attack  which  it  was  understood  that  the  Confed- 
erate iron-clad  Virginia  was  about  to  make  on  the 
Federal  batteries  and  men-of-war  at  Newport  News. 
No  care  or  preparation  could  make  t  he  Patrick 
Henry  as  well  fitted  for  war  as  a  vessel  of  the  same 
size  built  especially  for  the  military  marine  service ; 
but  the  best  that  could  foe  done  to  make  her  efficient 
was  done,  and  not  without  success,  as  the  part  the 
vessel  took  in  the  closely  following  battle  of  Hamp- 
ton Roads  conclusively  demonstrates. 

On  the  7th  of  March,  1862,  the  James  river  squad- 
ron, consisting  of  the  Patrick  Henry,  12,  Command- 
er J.  R.  Tucker;  Jamestown,  2,  Lieutenant  Com- 
manding J.  N.  Barney,  and  Teaser,  i,  Lieutenant 
Commanding  W.  A.  Webb,  proceeded  down  the 
river,  and  anchored  at  nightfall  off  Day's  Neck 
Point,  some  six  miles  distant  from  Newport  News. 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        31 

This  movement  was  effected  in  order  to  be  near 
at  hand  when  the  Virginia  made  her  expected  attack 
on  the  Federal  forces. 

The  8th  of  March,  1862,  was  a  bright,  placid, 
beautiful  day — more  like  a  May  than  a  March  day. 
About  i  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  Virginia  came 
steaming  out  from  behind  Craney  Island,  attended 
by  the  gunboats  Beaufort  and  Raleigh.  As  soon  as 
the  Virginia  was  seen,  the  James  river  squadron  got 
underway  under  all  the  steam  the  boilers  would 
bear,  and  proceeded  to  join  her  in  her  attack  on  the 
enemy.  As  Tucker's  small  squadron  approached 
the  Newport  News  batteries  he  formed  it  in  line 
ahead,  the  Patrick  Henry,  12,  leading;  next  the 
Jamestown,  2,  and  lastly  the  Teaser,  i;  this  order 
being  maintained  until  the  'batteries  were  passed. 
The  batteries  were  run  with  less  loss  than  was  an- 
ticipated; the  enemy  probably  expected  the  Confed- 
erate vessels  to  pass  in  the  usual  channel,  about 
eight  hundred  yards  from  the  guns  of  the  Federal 
works,  but  by  Tucker's  directions  the  Patrick  Henry 
was  run  by  much  nearer  the  batteries,  and  the 
Jamestown  and  Teaser  followed  her  closely.  Proba- 
bly in  consequence  of  this  deviation  from  the  mid- 
dle of  the  channel  the  Federal  guns  were  not  well 
aimed,  and  most  of  the  shot  from  the  batteries 
passed  over  the  Confederate  vessels.  As  the  James 
river  squadron  ranged  up  abreast  of  the  first  bat- 
tery, the  vessels  delivered  their  fire,  and  the  flash 
from  their  guns  had  scarcely  vanished  when  the 
Federal  works  were  wrapped  in  smoke,  and  their 


32  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

projectiles  came  hissing  through  the  air.  The  Pat- 
rick Henry  was  struck  several  times  during  the  pas- 
sage; one  shot  passing  through  the  crew  of  No.  3 
gun,  wounding  two  men  and  killing  one,  a  volun- 
teer from  the  army,  who  had  come  on  board  to  serve 
only  for  the  fight.  His  last  words  as  he  fell  were, 
"  Never  mind  me,  boys ! " 

Whilst  the  James  river  squadron  was  passing  the 
batteries,  the  Virginia  had  rammed  and  sunk  the 
Cumberland,  a  ship  which  was  fought  most  gallantly 
to  the  bitter  end,  going  down  with  her  colors  flying 
and  her  guns  firing,  like  the  celebrated  French  ship 
Vengeur. 

Having  run  by  the  batteries  with  no  material  dam- 
age, the  James  river  squadron  joined  the  Virginia 
and  afforded  her  valuable  aid  in  the  battle  she  was 
waging.  Whilst  the  forward  guns  of  the  Patrick 
Henry  were  engaging  one  enemy,  the  after  guns 
were  firing  at  another,  and  the  situation  of  the  Con- 
federate wooden  vessels  at  this  time  seemed  well 
nigh  desperate.  The  Newport  News  batteries  were 
on  one  side,  on  the  other  the  frigates  Minnesota,  St. 
Lawrence  and  Roanoke  were  coming  up  from  Old 
Point  Comfort,  and  in  front  the  beach  was  lined  with 
field  batteries  and  sharpshooters.  Fortunately  for 
the  wooden  vessels,  both  Confederate  and  Federal, 
the  Minnesota,  St.  Lawrence  and  Roanoke  grounded, 
and  the  smaller  vessels  which  accompanied  them  re- 
turned to  Old  Point  Comfort.  The  Minnesota, 
though  aground,  was  near  enough  to  take  part  in  the 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER. 

action,  and  opened  a  heavy  fire  on  the  Confederate 
squadron. 

The  frigate  Congress,  early  in  the  action,  had  been 
run  aground,  with  a  white  flag  flying.  Tucker,  as 
soon  as  he  saw  that  the  Congress  had  shown  a  white 
flag,  gave  orders  that  no  shot  should  be  fired  at  her 
from  the  Patrick  Henry.,  and  he  steadily  refused  to 
let  any  gun  be  aimed  at  her,  notwithstanding  that 
the  Confederate  gunboats  Raleigh,  Teaser  and  Beau- 
fort had  attempted  to  take  possession  of  the  surren- 
dered vessel,  and  had  been  driven  off  by  a  heavy  ar- 
tillery and  infantry  fire  from  the  Federal  troops  on 
the  beach.  After  the  Confederate  gunboats  had 
been  forced  to  retire  from  the  Congress,  Flag-Officer 
Buchanan  hailed  the  Patrick  Henry  and  directed 
Commander  Tucker  to  burn  that  frigate.  The 
pilots  of  the  Patrick  Henry  declared  they  could  not 
take  her  alongside  of  the  Congress  on  account  of  an 
intervening  shoal,  which  determined  Tucker  to  ap- 
proach as  near  as  the  shoal  would  permit  and  then 
send  his  boats  to  burn  the  Federal  frigate.  The 
boats  were  prepared  for  the  service,  and  the  boats' 
crews  and  officers  held  ready  whilst  the  Patrick 
Henry  steamed  in  towards  the  Congress. 

This  movement  of  the  Patrick  Henry  placed  her 
in  the  most  imminent  peril ;  she  was  brought  under 
the  continuous  and  concentrated  fire  of  three  points ; 
on  her  port  quarters  were  the  batteries  of  Newport 
News,  on  her  port  bow  the  field  batteries  and  sharp- 
shooters on  the  beach,  and  on  her  starboard  bow  the 
Minnesota.  It  soon  became  evident  that  no  wooden 


34  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

vessel  could  long  float  under  such  a  fire;  several 
shots  struck  the  hull,  and  a  piece  of  the  walking- 
beam  was  shot  away.  As  the  sponge  of  the  after 
pivot  gun  was  being  inserted  in  the  muzzle  of  the 
piece,  the  handle  was  cut  in  two  by  a  shot  from  the 
enemy;  half  in  prayer  and  half  in  despair  at  being 
unable  to  perform  his  duty,  the  sponger  exclaimed, 
"Oh,  Lord!  how  is  the  gun  to  be  sponged?"  He 
was  much  relieved  when  the  quarter-gunner  of  his 
division  handed  him  a  spare  sponge.  This  state  of 
things  could  not  last  long;  a  shot  from  a  rifled  gun 
of  one  of  the  field  batteries  on  the  beach  penetrated 
the  steam-chest,  the  engine-room  and  fire-room  were 
filled  with  steam,  four  of  the  firemen  were  scalded  to 
death  and  several  others  severely  injured ;  the  en- 
gineers and  firemen  were  driven  up  on  deck,  and 
the  engines  stopped  working;  the  vessel  was  envel- 
oped in  a  cloud  of  escaped  steam,  and  the  enemy, 
seeing  that  some  disaster  to  the  boiler  had  occurred, 
increased  his  fire.  At  the  moment,  until  the  chief 
engineer  made  his  report,  no  one  on  the  spar-deck 
knew  exactly  what  had  happened,  the  general  im- 
pression being  that  the  boilers  had  exploded.  It  is 
an  unmistakable  evidence  of  the  courage  and  disci- 
pline of  the  crew  that  the  fire  from  the  Patrick 
Henry  did  not  slacken,  but  went  on  as  regularly  as 
if  nothing  unusual  had  occurred.  As  the  vessel  was 
drifting  towards  the  enemy  in  her  disabled  cond.- 
tion,  the  jib  was  hoisted  to  pay  her  head  around, 
and  the  Jamestown,  Lieutenant  Commanding  Bar- 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        35 

ney,  gallantly  and  promptly  came  to  her  assistance 
and  towed  her  out  of  action. 

The  engineers  soon  got  one  boiler  in  working  order. 
The  other  was  so  badly  damaged  that  they  were 
unable  to  repair  it  for  immediate  use,  and  with  steam 
on  one  boiler  alone  the  Patrick  Henry  was  again 
taken  into  action.  The  closing  in  of  night  put  an 
end  to  the  conflict,  as  in  the  dark  it  was  impossible 
to  distinguish  friend  from  foe.  The  victory  re- 
mained without  dispute  with  the  Confederate  squad- 
ron, and  was  witnessed,  as  was  the  combat  between 
the  Virginia  and  the  Monitor  on  the  day  following, 
by  multitudes  of  spectators  from  Norfolk  and  the 
neighboring  camps  of  the  Confederate  troops,  as  well 
as  by  many  on  the  Federal  side  of  the  Roads. 

It  has  been  stated  that  the  total  Federal  loss  in 
this  battle  was  nearly  four  hundred.  The  numerical 
strength  of  the  Confederate  force  engaged  was  about 
si?  hundred,  of  which  the  total  loss  was  about  sixty. 
The  loss  on  board  the  Patrick  Henry  being  five  killed 
and  nine  wounded. 

The  part  taken  by  the  Patrick  Henry  in  this  bat- 
tle— it  was  a  battle  and  not  a  combat — seems  to  have 
been  lost  sight  of  in  consequence  of  the  great  power, 
as  a  new  force  in  naval  warfare,  displayed  by  the 
Virginia,  but  the  Federal  commanders  bear  witness 
to  the  efficient  service  done  by  the  Confederate 
wooden  vessels.  Lieutenant  Commanding  Pender- 
grast,  of  the  Congress,  reported  that  "  the  Patrick 
Henry  and  Thomas  Jefferson  (Jamestown},  rebel 
steamers,  approached  us  from  up  the  James  river, 


36  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

firing  with  precision  and  doing  us  great  damage," 
and  Captain  Van  Brunt,  of  the  Minnesota,  reported 
that  the  Patrick  Henry  and  Jamestown  "  took  their 
positions  on  my  port  bow  and  stern  and  their  fire  did 
most  damage  in  killing  and  wounding  men,  insomuch 
as  they  fired  with  rifled  guns." 

The  closing  in  of  night  having  put  an  end  to  hos- 
tilities until  morning,  the  Confederate  squadrons  an- 
chored under  Sewell's  Point,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
harbor  of  Norfolk.  The  crews  were  kept  busy  until 
a  late  hour  of  the  night,  making  such  repairs  and 
preparations  as  were  necessary  for  resuming  oper- 
ations in  the  morning.  Soon  after  midnight  a  col- 
umn of  fire  ascended  in  the  darkness,  followed  by  a 
terrific  explosion — the  Federal  frigate  Congress, 
which  had  been  on  fire  all  the  evening,  had  blown 
up,  the  fire  having  reached  her  magazine. 

Flag  Officer  Buchanan,  having  been  wounded  in 
the  action,  was  sent  to  the  Naval  Hospital  at  Nor- 
folk on  the  morning  of  the  Qth,  just  prior  to  the  get- 
ting under  way  of  the  squadron.  The  command 
ought,  in  conformity  with  military  and  naval  usage, 
to  have  been  formally  transferred  to  the  next  senior 
officer  of  the  squadron,  who  was  Commander  J.  R. 
Tucker,  of  the  Patrick  Henry;  but  this  obviously 
proper  course  was  not  followed,  and  Flag  Officer 
Buchanan's  flag  was  kept  flying  on  board  the  Vir- 
ginia, though  he  himself,  in  point  of  fact,  was  not 
and  could  not  be  in  command  of  that  vessel,  or  the 
Confederate  squadron,  since  he  was  not  within  sig- 
nal distance  of  either,  being  laid  up  in  bed  at  the 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        37 

Norfolk  Naval  Hospital.  Tucker  did  not  assume 
command  of  the  squadron,  but  simply  continued  to 
command  the  Patrick  Henry. 

At  the  first  peep  of  dawn,  on  the  morning  of  the 
9th  of  March,  the  Confederate  squadron  was  under 
way,  having  in  view  for  its  first  object  the  de- 
struction of  the  Minnesota,  that  frigate  being  still 
aground  near  Newport  News.  As  the  daylight  in- 
creased, the  Minnesota  was  discovered  in  her  old 
position,  but  no  longer  alone  and  unsupported. 
Close  alongside  of  her  there  lay  such  a  craft  as  the 
eyes  of  a  seaman  does  not  delight  to  look  upon ;  no 
masts,  no  smokestack,  no  guns — at  least  nothing  of 
the  sort  could  be  seen  about  her.  And  yet  the  thing 
had  a  grim,  pugnacious  look,  as  if  there  was  tre- 
mendous power  of  some  sort  inherent  in  her,  and 
ready  to  be  manifested  whenever  the  occasion  re- 
quired it.  The  Monitor  (for  it  was  that  famous  ves- 
sel) promptly  steamed  out  to  meet  the  Virginia,  as 
the  latter  vessel  bore  down  on  the  Minnesota,  and 
the  celebrated  combat  between  these  iron-clads  was 
joined  immediately.  It  was  the  first  action  that  had 
ever  been  fought  between  armored  vessels,  and  as 
such  will  ever  be  remembered  and  commented 
upon.  The  combat  resulted  in  a  drawn  fight  as  far 
as  the  Virginia  and  Monitor  was  concerned,  but  it 
established  the  power  of  iron-clad  steamers  as  en- 
gines of  war,  and  completely  revolutionized  the  con- 
struction of  the  navies  of  the  world. 

That  the  combat  between  the  Virginia  and  the 
Monitor  was  an  indecisive  action  is  clear.  The  Mon- 


462396 


38  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

itor  received  the  most  damage  in  the  fight,  and  was 
the  first  to  retire  from  it  into  shoal  water,  though 
the  fight  was  afterwards  renewed.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Virginia  did  not  accomplish  her  object, 
which  was  the  destruction  of  the  Minnesota,  and  she 
did  not  accomplish  It  in  consequence  of  the  resist- 
ance offered  by  the  Monitor.  The  two  vessels  held 
each  other  in  check,  the  Virginia  protecting  Nor- 
folk, and  the  Monitor  doing  the  same  for  the  Fed- 
eral wooden  fleet  in  Hampton  Roads  and  the  Chesa- 
peake waters.  The  injuries  received  by  the  Vir- 
ginia in  ramming  the  Cumberland,  on  the  previous 
day,  were  probably  greater  than  those  inflicted  on 
her  by  the  Monitor ;  in  neither  case  were  they  severe 
enough  to  disable  or  force  her  to  withdraw  from 
action. 

On  her  return  to  Norfolk  harbor,  the  Virginia 
was  accompanied  by  the  Patrick  Henry  and  the  other 
vessels  of  the  Confederate  squadron.  The  Confed- 
erate wooden  steamers  had  taken  no  part  in  the  action 
between  the  Virginia  and  the  Monitor,  except  to  fire 
an  occasional  shot  at  the  Monitor,  as  she  passed,  at 
very  long  range ;  no  wooden  vessel  could  have  float- 
ed a  quarter  of  an  hour  in  an  engagement  at  close 
quarters  with  either  of  the  two  iron-clads. 

Flag  Officer  Tatnall  having  relieved  Flag  Officer 
Buchanan,  who  was  incapacitated  from  command  on 
account  of  severe  wounds  received  in  the  first  day's 
fight  in  Hampton  Roads,  and  all  the  vessels  of  the 
squadron  having  been  refitted,  on  the  I3th  of  April 
the  squadron  again  sallied  out  to  attack  the  enemy. 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        39 

It  was  expected  that  the  Monitor  would  be  eager 
to  renew  the  combat  with  the  Virginia,  and  it  was 
agreed  upon  that,  in  case  the  Virginia  failed  to  cap- 
ture or  destroy  the  Federal  iron-clad,  an  attempt 
should  be  made  to  carry  the  latter  by  boarding. 
This  duty  was  assigned  to  the  gunboats  Beaufort 
and  Raleigh  and  two  other  small  steamers.  One  of 
these  small  steamers  was  the  tender  of  the  Norfolk 
Navy  Yard ;  she  was  manned  for  the  occasion  by 
officers  and  men  from  the  Patrick  Henry,  under  the 
command  of  the  executive-officer  of  that  vessel,  and 
was  christened  by  the  men  Patrick  Henry,  Junior. 

The  Confederate  squadron  steamed  about  in 
Hampton  Roads  for  two  days,  but  the  Monitor  did 
not  leave  her  anchorage  at  Fortress  Monroe,  her 
passiveness  being  due,  it  seems,  to  orders  from 
Washington  not  to  engage  the  Virginia  unless  she 
attempted  to  pass  Old  Point  Comfort. 

General  J.  Bankhead  Magruder,  commanding  the 
Confederate  Army  of  the  Peninsula,  was  urgent  in 
demanding  the  return  of  the  James  river  squadron, 
and  consequently  the  Patrick  Henry  and  Jamestown 
were  ordered  to  run  by  the  Newport  News  batteries 
at  night,  and  resume  their  old  duty  in  James  river. 
The  Jamestown  ran  up  the  river  orf  the  ipth  and 
the  Patrick  Henry  on  the  2Oth  of  April;  the  Beau- 
fort, Raleigh  and  Teaser  were  also  sent  up  the  river ; 
the  headquarters  of  this  detached  squadron,  of  which 
Tucker  was  the  senior  officer,  was  at  Mulberry 
Island,  on  which  point  rested  the  right  flank  of  the 
Confederate  Army  of  the  Peninsula. 


40  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

Up  to  this  time  the  Patrick  Henry  was  brigantine 
rigged,  but  to  fit  her  better  for  running  by  batteries 
without  being  discovered,  both  of  her  masts  were 
now  taken  out  and  short  signal  poles  substituted  for 
them. 

When  the  Confederate  authorities  determined  upon 
the  evacuation  of  Norfolk,  the  James  river  squadron 
was  employed  to  remove  what  public  property  could 
be  saved  from  the  Navy  Yard  to  Richmond.  The  hulls 
of  several  uncompleted  vessels  were  towed  past  the 
Federal  batteries  at  Newport  News.  The  running 
past  the  batteries  was  always  done  at  night,  moon- 
less nights  being  chosen  whenever  it  was  practica- 
ble to  select  the  time  of  making  the  trip.  So  far  as 
known,  the  vessels  employed  on  this  service  were 
never  detected  by  the  enemy;  at  least  they  were 
never  fired  upon. 

Soon  after  the  evacuation  of  Norfolk,  whilst  the 
Confederate  forces  were  retiring  from  the  Penin- 
sula to  the  lines  around  Richmond,  a  Federal  squad- 
ron, consisting  of  the  Monitor,  Galena,  Naugatuck, 
Aroostook  and  Port  Royal,  entered  James  river.  The 
Monitor  alone  could  with  ease  and  without  serious 
injury  to  herself  have  destroyed  in  fight  all  the  Con- 
federate vessels  in  James  river,  and  no  course  was 
open  to  Tucker  but  to  take  his  squadron  up  the 
river  and  make  a  stand  at  the  place  below  Rich- 
mond best  adapted  for  defense.  The  place  most 
wisely  selected  was  Drewry's  Bluff,  where  the  river 
had  been  obstructed  by  rows  of  piles,  and  the  piles 
defended  by  four  army  guns  mounted  in  a  breast- 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        41 

work  on  the  crest  of  the  bluff,  about  two  hundred 
feet  above  the  river.  When  the  Confederate  squad- 
ron arrived  at  Drewry's  Bluff,  the  defenses  which 
had  been  constructed  at  the  place  were  not  in  a 
condition  to  have  prevented  the  Federal  squadron 
from  passing  on  to  Richmond ;  but  in  the  day  which 
the  Federal  vessels  wasted  in  silencing  the  fire  of 
the  half-deserted  Confederate  batteries  on  the  lower 
river,  the  works  at  Drewry's  Bluff  were  materially 
strengthened.  The  Jamestown  and  several  smaller 
vessels  were  sunk  in  the  river  channel,  the  two  rifled 
guns  of  the  Jamestown  having  been  previously 
landed  and  mounted  in  pits  dug  in  the  brow  of  the 
bluff.  The  eight-inch  solid-shot  gun  of  the  Patrick 
Henry  and  her  two  six-inch  rifles  were  also  landed, 
thus  forming  a  formidable  naval  battery  counter- 
sunk on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  consisting  of  one 
eight-inch  solid-shot  gun  and  four  six-inch  rifles. 
Besides  the  naval  battery,  there  were  several  army 
guns  mounted  in  a  breastwork  and  served  by  a  bat- 
talion of  Artillery,  under  the  command  of  Major  A. 
Drewry,  who  was  the  owner  of  the  bluff,  and  from 
whom  the  place  took  its  name. 

The  naval  guns  were  manned  by  the  crews  of  the 
Patrick  Henry,  Jamestotvn  and  Virginia — the  crew  of 
the  Virginia  arriving  at  the  bluff  soon  after  she  had 
been  destroyed  by  Flag  Officer  Tatnall,  to  prevent 
her  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  It  is 
not  always  possible  for  a  sea  captain  to  preserve  the 
vessel  he  commands ;  but  it  is  always  possible  to  act 
with  firmness,  skill  and  judgment  under  trying  and 
adverse  circumstances,  and  this  Flag  Officer  Tatnall 


42  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

seems  to  have  done.  A  court-martial,  composed  of 
officers  of  high  professional  attainments  and  ac- 
knowledged personal  merit,  acquitted  him  of  all 
blame  for  the  loss  of  the  Virginia. 

The  following  naval  officers  may  be  named  as  par- 
ticipating in  the  engagement  of  Drewry's  Bluff, 
though  there  were  others  whose  names  are  not  at  this 
time  procurable :  Of  the  Patrick  Henry,  Commander 
John  Randolph  Tucker,  Lieutenant  James  Henry 
Rochelle,  Lieutenant  Francis  Lyell  Hoge,  and  others ; 
of  the  Jamestown,  Lieutenant  Commanding  J.  Nich- 
olas Barney,  Acting  Master  Samuel  Barren,  Jr.,  and 
others;  of  the  Virginia,  Lieutenant  Catesby  Roger 
Jones,  Lieutenant  Hunter  Davidson,  Lieutenant 
John  Taylor  Wood,  Lieutenant  Walter  Raleigh  Butt, 
and  others.  Commander  E.  Farrand  was  the  rank- 
ing and  commanding  officer  present,  having  been 
sent  down  from  Richmond  to  command  the  station. 

It  was  on  the  I5th  of  May,  1862,  that  the  Federal 
vessels  Galena,  Monitor,  Naugatuck,  Aroostook,  and 
Port  Royal  made  the  well-known  attack  on  the  Con- 
federate batteries  at  Drewry's  Bluff,  which  was  the 
only  obstacle  barring  the  way  to  Richmond,  the  cap- 
ital of  the  Confederate  States. 

The  Galena  and  Monitor  engaged  the  batteries  at 
short  distance,  the  other  three  Federal  vessels  keep- 
ing just  within  long  range  of  the  Confederate  guns. 
The  Monitor,  after  the  action  commenced,  rinding 
that  her  position  was  too^near  the  bluff  to  allow  of 
her  guns  being  elevated  sufficiently  to  throw  their 
shot  to  the  crest  of  the  cliff,  retired  to  a  more 
favorable  position.  The  Confederates  wasted  but 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.  43- 

few  shot  on  her,  knowing  they  would  not  pierce  her 
armor. 

The  Galena  was  managed  and  fought  with  great 
skill  and  daring.  Approaching  to  within  about  six 
hundred  yards  of  the  Confederate  batteries,  she  was 
deliberately  moored,  her  battery  sprung  and  a  well- 
directed  fire  opened  upon  the  Confederate  works. 
From  half  past  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  until  about 
eleven,  when  the  action  ceased,  she  kept  this  position, 
receiving  nearly  the  whole  of  the  Confederate  fire. 
The  most  effective  gun  on  the  Bluff  was  the  eight- 
inch  solid  shot  gun  of  the  Patrick  Henry.  Knowing 
by  previous  experience  the  power  of  the  gun,  Tucker 
gave  it  his  personal  supervision.  At  n  o'clock  A.M. 
a  shot  from  this  gun  passed  into  one  of  the  bow  posts 
of  the  Galena,  and  was  followed  by  an  immediate 
gushing  forth  of  smoke,  showing  that  the  vessel 
was  on  fire  or  had  sustained  some  serious  damage,  a 
conclusion  confirmed  by  her  moving  off  down  the 
river,  accompanied  by  the  other  four  vessels  of  the 
Federal  squadron.  It  was  at  Drewry's  Bluff  that 
Midshipman  Carroll,  of  Maryland,  was  killed.  He 
was  struck  by  a  projectile  whilst  standing  by  Tuck- 
er's side,  whose  aide  he  was. 

For  some  days  it  was  expected  that  another  attack 
on  the  Confederate  position  would  be  made,  but  no 
other  effort  to  capture  Richmond  with  iron-clads 
was  attempted.  A  half  a  dozen  armored  vessels, 
built  expressly  for  being  forced  through  obstruc- 
tions and  by  batteries,  could  have  passed  Drewry's 
Bluff  and  captured  Richmond,  but  the  force  with 
which  the  attempt  was  actually  made  was  neither 


44  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

well   adapted   for   the   undertaking  nor  sufficiently 
strong  for  success. 

The  Galena's  loss  was  thirteen  killed  and  eleven 
wounded,  and  one  officer  and  two  men  were  wound- 
ed on  board  the  other  Federal  vessels.  On  the  Con- 
federate side  the  loss,  including  the  battalion  of  Ar- 
tillery, as  well  as  the  force  of  sailors,  was  eleven 
killed  and  nine  wounded. 

After  the  Federal  repulse  at  Drewry's  Bluff,  the 
officers  and  crew  of  the  Patrick  Henry,  Virginia  and 
Jamestown  were  permanently  attached  to  the  naval 
batteries  at  that  place,  Tucker  continuing  to  com- 
mand his  men  on  shore. 

In  August,  1862,  Tucker  was  ordered  to  com- 
mand the  iron-clad  steamer  Chicora,  which  vessel 
had  just  been  launched  at  Charleston.  She  was  a 
casemate  iron-clad,  with  armor  four  inches  in  thick- 
ness, and  carried  a  battery  of  two  nine-inch  smooth- 
bore shell  guns,  and  two  six-inch  Brooks  rifles, 
throwing  a  projectile  weighing  sixty  pounds.  Flag 
Officer  Duncan  N.  Ingraham  commanded  the 
Charleston  squadron,  and  flew  his  flag  on  board  the 
Palmetto  State,  Lieutenant  Commanding  John  Rut- 
ledge.  The  Palmetto  State  was  an  iron-clad,  similar 
to  the  Chicora  in  build  and  armor,  carrying  a  bat- 
tery of  one  seven- inch  rifled  gun  forward,  one  six- 
inch  rifled  gun  aft,  and  one  eight-inch  shell  gun  on 
each  broadside. 

On  the  night  of  January  3ist,  1863,  the  two  Con- 
federate iron-clads  made  a  successful  attack  on  the 
Federal  blockading  squadron  off  Charleston.  Pass- 
ing the  bar  of  Charleston  harbor  at  early  dawn,  the 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        45 

Confederate  iron-clads  quickly  drove  the  blockad- 
ing vessels  out  to  sea,  and  the  blockade  was  broken, 
at  least  for  some  hours.  In  his  official  report  of  this 
action  Flag  Officer  Ingraham  says,  "  I  cannot  speak 
in  too  high  terms  of  the  conduct  of  Commander 
Tucker  and  Lieutenant  Commanding  Rutledge;  the 
former  handled  his  vessel  in  a  beautiful  manner  and 
did  the  enemy  much  damage.  I  refer  you  to  his 
official  report." 

The  official  report  to  which  Flag  Officer  Ingraham 
refers  the  Confederate  Secretary  of  the  Navy  is  as 
follows : 

"  CONFEDERATE  STATES  STEAMER  Chicora, 
"  January  3ist,  1863. 

"  Sir — In  obedience  to  your  order,  I  got  under 
way  at  11.30  P.  M.  yesterday,  and  stood  down  the 
harbor  in  company  with  the  Confederate  States 
steamer  Palmetto  State,  bearing  your  flag.  We 
crossed  the  bar  at  4.40  A.  M.,  and  commenced  the 
action  at  5.20  A.  M.  by  firing  into  a  schooner- rigged 
propeller,  which  we  set  on  fire  and  have  every  reason 
to  believe  sunk,  as  she  was  nowhere  to  be  seen  at 
daylight.  We  then  engaged  a  large  sidewheel 
steamer,  twice  our  length  from  us  on  the  port  bow, 
firing  three  shots  into  her  with  telling  effect,  when 
she  made  a  run  for  it.  This  vessel  was  supposed  to 
be  the  Quaker  City.  We  then  engaged  a  schooner- 
rigged  propeller  and  a  large  sidewheel  steamer,  par- 
tially crippling  both,  and  setting  the  latter  on  fire, 
causing  her  to  strike  her  flag;  at  this  time  the  lat- 
ter vessel,  supposed  to  be  the  Keystone  State,  was 


46  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

completely  at  my  mercy,  I  having  taken  position 
astern,  distant  some  two  hundred  yards.  I  at  once 
gave  the  order  to  cease  firing  upon  her,  and  directed 
Lieutenant  Bier,  First  Lieutenant  of  the  Chicora,  to 
man  a  boat  and  take  charge  of  the  prize,  if  possible 
to  save  her;  if  that  was  not  possible,  to  rescue  her 
crew.  While  the  boat  was  in  the  act  of  being 
manned,  I  discovered  that  she  was  endeavoring  to 
make  her  escape  by  working  her  starboard  wheel, 
the  other  being  disabled,  her  colors  being  down.  I 
at  once  started  in  pursuit  and  renewed  the  engage- 
ment. Owing  to  her  superior  steaming  qualities  she 
soon  widened  the  distance  to  some  two  hundred 
yards.  She  then  hoisted  her  flag  and  commenced 
firing  her  rifled  guns ;  her  commander,  by  this  faith- 
less act,  placing  himself  beyond  the  pale  of  civilized 
and  honorable  warfare.*  We  next  engaged  two 
schooners,  one  brig,  and  one  bark-rigged  propeller, 
but  not  having  the  requisite  speed  were  unable  to 
bring  them  to  close  quarters.  We  pursued  them  six 
or  seven  miles  seaward.  During  the  latter  part  of  the 
combat,  I  was  engaged  at  long  range  with  a  bark- 
rigged  steam  sloop-of-war ;  but  in  spite  of  all  our 
efforts,  was  unable  to  bring  her  to  close  quarters, 
owing  to  her  superior  steaming  qualities.  At  7.30 
A.  M.,  in  obedience  to  your  orders,  we  stood  in  shore, 
leaving  the  partially  crippled  and  fleeing  enemy 
about  seven  miles  clear  of  the  bar,  standing  to  the 
southward  and  eastward.  At  8  A.  M.,  in  obedience 


*The  Keystone  State  did  not  surrender,  rescue  or  no  res- 
cue, and  her  escape  ought  probably  to  be  regarded  as  a 
rescue. 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        47 

to  signal,  we  anchored  in  four  fathoms  waters  off 
the  Beach  Channel." 

"  It  gives  me  pleasure  to  testify  to  the  good  con- 
duct and  efficiency  of  the  officers  and  crew  of  the 
Chicora.  I  am  particularly  indebted  to  the  pilots, 
Messrs.  Payne  and  Aldert,  for  the  skillful  pilotage 
of  the  vessel." 

"  It  gives  me  pleasure  to  report  that  I  have  no 
injuries  or  casualties." 

"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  J.  R.  TUCKER,  Commander,  C.  S.  N. 
"  Flag  Officer  D.  N.  INGRAHAM,  C.  S.  N., 

"  Commanding  Station,  Charleston,  S.  C." 

The  result  of  this  engagement  was  a  complete 
demonstration  of  the  futility  of  any  attempt  on  the 
part  of  wooden  vessels  to  contend  with  iron-clads. 
The  Federal  squadron  consisted  of  the  Housatonic, 
Meresdita,  Keystone  State,  Quaker  City,  Augusta, 
Flag,  Memphis,  Stettin,  Ottawa,  and  UnadiUa,  ten 
vessels,  all  of  them  unarmored,  and  three,  the  Housa- 
tonic, Ottawa  and  Unadilla,  built  for  war  service,  the 
other  seven  being  merchant  steamers  converted  into 
men-of-war.  The  Confederate  squadron  consisted 
of  only  two  vessels,  both  iron-clads,  the  Palmetto 
State  and  Chicora,' which  received  no  damage  what- 
ever during  the  engagement,  either  to  their  hulls,  ma- 
chinery, or  crew,  whilst  several  of  the  ten  Federal 
wooden  vessels  were  seriously  injured,  though  none 
of  them  were  sunk,  their  escape  from  capture  or  de- 
struction being  due  to  the  swiftness  of  their  flight. 


48  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

Their  loss  was  twenty-five  killed  and  twenty-two 
wounded. 

The  blockade  of  Charleston  harbor  was  soon,  in- 
deed immediately,  re-established,  and  kept  up  by  the 
armored  frigate  New  Ironsides  and  a  number  of 
heavy  "  Monitors."  There  was,  from  the  end  of  this 
battle  to  the  evacuation  of  Charleston  by  the  Con- 
federates, no  time  when  there  would  have  been  the 
least  probability  of  the  success  of  another  dash  by 
the  Confederate  vessels  in  the  harbor  upon  the  Fed- 
eral squadron  blockading. 

In  the  month  of  February,  1863,  Tucker  was  pro- 
moted to  the  rank  of  Captain  in  the  Provisional 
Navy  of  the  Confederate  States,  and  in  March  fol- 
lowing was  appointed  Flag  Officer  of  the  Confed- 
erate Forces  Afloat  at  Charleston,  the  Chicora  bear- 
ing his  flag. 

On  the  7th  of  April,  1863,  Admiral  Dupont  made 
his  attack  on  Charleston,  with  a  squadron  consisting 
of  the  armored  frigate  New  Ironsides  and  eight 
"  Monitors."  Tucker,  with  his  usual  good  judg- 
ment, held  the  Chicora  and  Palmetto  State,  aided  by 
a  number  of  rowboats  armed  with  torpedoes,  ready 
to  make  a  desperate  and  final  assault  upon  the  Fed- 
eral squadron  if  it  should  succeed  in  passing  the 
Confederate  forts  guarding  the  entrance  to  the  har- 
bor. Admiral  Dupont's  squadron  was  repulsed  by 
the  forts,  and  the  Confederate  squadron  was  not  en- 
gaged. 

The  Confederate  naval  forces  afloat  at  Charleston 
did  not  possess  either  the  strength  or  swiftness  nec- 
essary for  an  attack  on  the  Federal  blockading 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        49 

squadron  with  any  reasonable  prospect  of  success, 
and  Tucker  therefore  turned  his  attention  to  attacks 
by  means  of  torpedo-boats  fitted  out  from  his  squad- 
ron. On  the  5th  of  October,  1863,  Lieutenant  W.  T. 
Glassell,  with  a  small  double-ender  steam  torpedo- 
boat,  made  an  attempt  to  sink  the  New  Ironsides, 
lying  off  Morris'  Island.  The  New  Ironsides  was 
not  sunk,  but  she  was  seriously  damaged  and  was 
sent  North  for  repairs.  The  torpedo-boat  was  filled 
with  water,  and  her  commander,  pilot,  and  engineer, 
all  that  were  on  board  of  her,  were  thrown  overboard 
by  the  shock  of  the  striking  and  exploding  of  the 
torpedo  against  the  bottom  of  the  iron-clad.  The 
torpedo-boat  was  finally  taken  back  into  Charleston 
harbor  by  the  pilot  and  engineer,  but  Lieutenant 
Glassell  was  made  prisoner  after  having  been  in  the 
water  about  an  hour.  A  torpedo-boat  commanded 
by  Lieutenant  Dixon  of  the  Confederate  Army,  and 
manned  by  six  volunteers  from  Tucker's  squadron 
and  one  from  the  army,  attacked  and  sunk,  on  the 
night  of  February  i/th,  i864,  the  United  States 
steamer  Housatonic  lying  in  the  North  Channel. 
The  torpedo-boat  with  all  on  board  went  to  the  bot- 
tom, but  most  of  the  crew  of  the  Housatonic  were 
saved  by  taking  refuge  in  the  rigging,  which  was 
not  submerged  when  the  vessel  rested  on  the  bottom. 

The  boat  attack  on  Fort  Sumter,  made  by  the 
Federals  on  September  8th,  1863,  was  easily  re- 
pulsed, and  the  Charleston  squadron  materially  aided 
in  the  repulse. 

A  battalion  of  sailors  from  the  recruits  on  board 
the  receiving-ship  Indian  Chief,  under  the  command 


50  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

of  Lieutenant  Commanding  William  Galliard  Dozier, 
was  detached  by  Tucker  to  co-operate  with  the  army 
on  James'  Island  in  August,  1864.  This  battalion 
rendered  good  service,  and  upon  its  return  to  the 
squadron  was  kept  organized  and  ready  to  respond 
whenever  a  call  for  assistance  was  made  upon  the 
Navy  by  the  Army. 

Early  in  1864  some  changes  were  made  in  the  com- 
manding officers  of  the  squadron ;  Commander  Isaac 
Newton  Brown  was  ordered  to  the  Charleston,  Com- 
mander Thomas  T.  Hunter  to  the  Chicora,  and  Lieu- 
tenant Commanding  James  Henry  Rochelle  to  the 
Palmetto  State.  No  other  changes  were  made  in  the 
commands  of  the  squadron  while  it  existed. 

The  three  iron-clads  under  Tucker's  command  at 
Charleston  were  all  slow  vessels,  with  imperfect 
engines,  which  required  frequent  repairing;  for  that 
day,  and  considering  the  paucity  of  naval  resources 
in  the  South,  they  were  fairly  officered,  manned  and 
armed.  All  of  them  were  clad  with  armor  four 
inches  thick,  and  they  were  all  of  the  type  of  the 
Virginia,  or  Merrimac,  as  that  vessel  is  frequently 
but  erroneously  called.  The  commander  of  the 
vessels  were  all  formerly  officers  of  the  United  States 
Navy,  who  were  citizens  of  the  Southern  States  and 
had  resigned  their  commissions  in  the  Federal  service 
when  their  States  seceded  from  the  Union.  The 
lieutenants  and  other  officers  were  appointed  from 
civil  life,  but  they  were  competent  to  perform  the 
duties  required  of  them,  and  conducted  themselves 
well  at  all  times  and  under  all  circumstances.  The 
crews  of  each  vessel  numbered  from  one  hundred 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        51 

and  twenty  to  one  hundred  and  sixty  men,  some  of 
them  able-seamen,  and  most  of  them  efficient  and 
reliable  men.  Each  vessel  carried  a  torpedo,  fitted  to 
the  end  of  a  spar  some  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  long 
projecting  from  the  bows  in  a  line  with  the  keel,  and 
so  arranged  that  it  could  be  carried  either  triced  up 
clear  of  the  water  or  submerged  five  or  six  feet  below 
the  surface.  The  squadron  was  in  a  good  state  of 
discipline  and  drill,  and,  so  far  as  the  personnel  was 
concerned,  in  a  very  efficient  condition. 

Every  night  one  or  two  of  the  iron-clads  anchored 
in  the  channel  near  Fort  Sumter  for  the  purpose  of 
resisting  a  night  attack  on  that  place  or  a  dash  into 
the  harbor  by  the  Federal  squadron. 

Not  long  before  the  evacuation  of  Charleston  an 
iron-clad  named  the  Columbia  was  launched  there. 
She  had  a  thickness  of  six  inches  of  iron  on  her 
casemate,  and  was  otherwise  superior  to  the  other 
three  iron-clads  of  the  squadron.  Unfortunately,  she 
was  run  aground  whilst  coming  out  of  dock,  and 
so  much  injured  as  not  to  be  able  to  render  any  ser- 
vice whatever. 

Charleston  was  evacuated  by  the  Confederate 
forces  on  the  i8th  of  February,  1865.  Several  days 
previous  to  the  evacuation  a  detachment  from  the 
squadron  of  about  three  hundred  men,  under  the 
command  of  Lieutenant  Commanding  James  Henry 
Rochelle,  consisting  of  the  officers  and  crews  of  the 
Palmetto  State,  Columbia,  and  the  recruits  from  the 
receiving-ship  Indian  Chief,  were  dispatched  by  rail 
to  Wilmington,  which  the  detachment  reached  only 
a  few  days  before  it  was.  in  turn,  abandoned  by  the 


52  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

Confederate  Army.  The  Charleston  naval  detach- 
ment was  ordered  to  co-operate  with  the  Army  as  a 
body  of  infantry,  and  was  assigned  to  duty  with 
General  Hoke's  division,  of  which  it  formed  the  ex- 
treme right,  resting  on  Cape  Fear  river.  The  posi- 
tion was  exposed  to  an  annoying  fire  from  the  Fed- 
eral gunboats  in  the  river,  to  which  no  reply  could  be 
made,  but  from  which  some  loss  was  suffered.  The 
evacuation  of  Wilmington  took  place  on  the  22d  of 
February,  1865,  and  the  Charleston  squadron's  naval 
battalion  marched  out  with  Hoke's  division,  to  which 
it  remained  attached  until  somewhere  in  the  interior 
of  North  Carolina  it  reunited  with  Tucker's  com- 
mand. 

With  the  officers  and  crews  of  the  Charleston  and 
Chicora,  Tucker  left  Charleston  on  the  i8th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1865,  the  day  of  the  evacuation  of  the  city  by 
the  Confederate  Army.  As  far  as  Florence  in  South 
Carolina  the  Charleston  naval  brigade  traveled  by 
rail,  but  at  that  point  Tucker  received  a  telegram 
informing  him  that  the  Federal  forces  were  about 
cutting  the  railway  communication  between  Florence 
and  Wilmington.  This  was  the  last  message  that 
came  over  the  wires,  and  Tucker,  knowing  that  the 
enemy  had  succeeded  in  seizing  the  railroad,  aban- 
doned his  intention  of  making  for  Wilmington,  and 
marched  his  command  across  the  country  to  Fayette- 
ville,  where  he  received  orders  from  the  Navy  De- 
partment to  bring  his  force  to  Richmond.  On  the 
way  from  Fayetteville  to  Richmond  the  detached 
Charleston  naval  battalion  was  reunited  to  the  main 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        53 

body  under  Tucker,  and  the  whole  brigade  proceed- 
ed together  to  Richmond,  and  from  Richmond  it  was 
sent  to  garrison  the  Confederate  batteries  at  Drew- 
ry's Bluff,  of  which  place  Tucker  was  ordered  to 
assume  command,  the  naval  forces  afloat  in  James 
river  being  under  the  command  of  Rear  Admiral 
Raphael  Semmes. 

When  Tucker  took  command  at  Drewry's  Bluff  the 
Confederate  cause  was  at  its  last  gasp.  Richmond 
was  evacuated  by  the  Confederate  Army  and  Govern- 
ment on  the  night  of  the  2d  of  April,  1865.  Strange 
to  relate,  Tucker  received  no  orders  to  retire  with 
his  command,  and  he  held  his  post  steadily  until, 
early  on  the  morning  of  the  3d,  the  Confederate  iron- 
clads in  James  river  were  burnt  by  their  own  com- 
manders. When  he  knew  the  troops  were  marching 
out  of  Richmond  and  saw  the  Confederate  iron- 
clads burning  in  the  river,  Tucker  thought  it  was 
not  only  justifiable  but  necessary  for  him  to  act  with- 
out orders,  and  he  retired  with  his  command  from 
Drewry's  Bluff.  General  R.  E.  Lee  told  Tucker, 
when  they  met,  that  of  all  the  mistakes  committed 
by  the  Richmond  authorities  he  regretted  none  more 
than  the  neglect  to  apprise  the  naval  force  at  Drew- 
ry's Bluff  of  the  intended  evacuation  of  the  city. 

The  naval  brigade  from  Drewry's  Bluff,  under 
Flag  Officer  Tucker,  joined  the  rear  guard  of  the 
Confederate  Army,  and  was  attached  to  General  Cus- 
tis  Lee's  division  of  General  Ewell's  corps,  with 
which  it  marched  until  the  battle  of  Saylor's  Creek 
on  the  i6th  of  April,  1865.  The  naval  brigade  held 


54  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

the  right  of  the  line  at  that  battle,  and  easily  repulsed 
all  the  assaults  made  upon  it.  A  flag  of  truce  was 
sent  by  the  Federal  General  commanding  at  that 
point  to  inform  Tucker  that  the  Confederate  troops 
on  his  right  and  left  had  surrendered,  and  that  further 
resistance  was  useless  and  could  only  end  in  the  de- 
struction of  the  sailors.  Tucker,  believing  that  the 
battle  had  only  commenced,  refused  to  surrender,  and 
held  his  position  until  reliable  information,  which  he 
could  not  doubt,  reached  him  of  the  surrender  of 
General  Ewell  and  his  army  corps.  The  naval  bri- 
gade surrendered  by  Tucker  numbered  some  three 
hundred  sailors,  who,  the  opposing  force  said,  did  not 
know  when  they  were  whipped.  Tucker's  sword, 
which  he  rendered  to  General  Keifer,  was  returned 
to  him  some  years  after  the  war  by  that  gentleman, 
then  a  prominent  member  of  Congress. 

Tucker  was  sent  North  and  confined  as  a  prisoner  of 
war  until  the  entire  cessation  of  hostilities,  when  he 
was  released  on  parole.  On  his  return  to  Virginia 
he  found  that  both  the  Confederate  and  State  Gov- 
ernments were  things  of  the  past,  and  that  he  would 
have  to  mend  his  broken  fortunes,  if  mend  them  he 
could,  by  engaging  in  the  business  pursuits  of  civil 
life.  He  succeeded,  not  without  difficulty,  in  obtain- 
ing employment  as  an  agent  of  the  Southern  Express 
Company,  and  was  stationed  at  Raleigh,  North  Caro- 
lina, to  take  charge  of  the  business  matters  of  the 
Company  in  that  city. 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.  55 


PART    III. 

TUCKER  OFFERED  THE  COMMAND  OF  THE  PERUVIAN 
FLEET,  WITH  THE  RANK  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL — 
ARRIVES  IN  LIMA — No  PRECEDENT  FOR  THE  RE- 
TURN OF  MONEY — COMMISSIONED  A  REAR  AD- 
MIRAL IN  THE  NAVY  OF  PERU — COMMANDS  THE 
ALLIED  FLEETS  OF  PERU  AND  CHILE — SPANISH 
WAR~TUCKER'S  PLAN  FOR  A  NAVAL  CAMPAIGN  ; 
PROJECTED  EXPEDITION  AGAINST  MANILA — 
CESSATION  OF  HOSTILITIES  —  TUCKER  RETIRES 
FROM  THE  COMMAND  OF  THE  FLEET,  AND  Is  AP- 
POINTED PRESIDENT  OF  THE  PERUVIAN  HYDRO- 
GRAPHICAL  COMMISSION  OF  THE  AMAZON — 
CROSSES  THE  ANDES  AND  REACHES  THE  AMA- 
ZON— EXPLORES  THE  YAVARI  RIVER — ORDERED 
TO  THE  UNITED  STATES  TO  SUPERINTEND  THE 
BUILDING  OF  AN  EXPLORING  STEAMER — RE- 
TURNS TO  THE  AMAZON  WITH  STEAMER  Tambo. 
EXPEDITION  UP  THE  UCAYALI  AND  EXPLORA- 

RION  OF  THE  TAMBO  RlVER ORDERED  TO  THE 

UNITED  STATES  TO  PROCURE  A  STEAMER  OF 
LIGHT  DRAUGHT  OF  WATER — RETURNS  TO  THE 
AMAZON  WITH  STEAMER  Mairo — SECOND  EX- 
PEDITION UP  THE  UCAYALI — CANOE  EXPEDI- 
TION UP  THE  PACHITEA  AND  EXPLORATION  OF 
THE  PICHIS  RIVER — EXPEDITION  UP  THE  AMA- 
ZON AND  HUALLAGA  RlVERS — ORDERED  TO  LlMA. 

ORDERED  TO  NEW  YORK  TO  SUPERINTEND  THE 


56  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

CHARTS  MADE  BY  THE  HYDROGRAPHICAL  COM- 
MISSION— PUBLICATION  OF  CHARTS  ABANDONED 
ON  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  FINANCIAL  CONDITION  OF 
PERU — LETTER  FROM  PRESIDENT  PARDO — LET- 
TER FROM  MINISTER  FREYRE — TUCKER  RETIRES 
TO  His  HOME  IN  PETERSBURG,  VIRGINIA — OC- 
CUPATIONS AND  AMUSEMENTS  OF  OLD  AGE — 
DEATH  —  CHARACTER  AND  QUALITIES  —  CON- 
CLUSION. 

While  residing  in  Raleigh,  North  Carolina,  Tucker 
received  a  letter  from  the  Peruvian  Minister  to  the 
United  States,  requesting  an  interview  on  affairs  of 
importance.  Going  to  Washington,  Tucker  saw  the 
Minister,  and  the  result  of  the  interview  was  that  he 
accepted  a  proposition  to  go  to  Peru  and  enter  the 
Navy  of  that  Republic  as  a  rear-admiral,  his  commis- 
sion to  be  dated  from  the  time  of  his  arrival  at  Lima. 
He  was  allowed  to  take  with  him  two  staff  officers, 
one  with  the  rank  of  captain  and  the  other  with  that 
of  commander. 

When  Tucker  entered  the  Navy  of  Peru,  that  Re- 
public was  engaged  in  a  war  with  Spain.  Spain  had 
never  recognized  the  independence  of  her  former 
South  American  colonies,  and  thinking  a  favorable 
opportunity  had  arisen  for  asserting  her  dormant 
claims,  the  Spanish  Government  sent  an  iron-clad 
frigate,  accompanied  by  several  smaller  vessels,  to 
attack  the  Chilean  and  Peruvian  seaport  cities  on  the 
Pacific  coast.  The  attack  upon  Valparaiso,  the  chief 
port  of  Chile,  was  successful,  but  the  Spanish  squad- 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        57 

ron  was  beaten  off  at  Callao  by  the  Peruvian  bat- 
teries. Whilst  preparing  for  the  defense  of  Callao, 
the  Peruvian  Government  determined  to  place  its 
naval  establishment  on  such  a  footing  that  it  would 
be  able  to  meet  any  force  Spain  could  send  to  the 
Pacific.  Tucker  had,  and  most  deservedly,  the  repu- 
tation of  being  a  hard  fighter,  a  thorough  disci- 
plinarian, and  a  splendid  seaman;  hence  the  Peru- 
vian Government  of  President  Prado  directed  its 
Minister  at  Washington  to  engage  his  services  if  pos- 
sible. The  cause  was  one  which  enlisted  all  Tucker's 
sympathies,  and  he  agreed  to  take  command  of  the 
Peruvian  fleet.  Tucker  became  much  attached  to 
Peru,  and  served  the  Republic  zealously  and  faith- 
fully. He  had  many  warm  friends  in  Lima,  and  no 
matter  what  party  held  the  Government,  the  trust  and 
confidence  reposed  in  him  by  the  authorities  in  Lima 
was  always  implicit. 

Tucker  arrived  in  Lima  accompanied  by  his  per- 
sonal staff,  David  Porter  McCorkle,  captain  of  the 
fleet,  and  Walter  Raleigh  Butt,  commander  and  aide. 
Just  before  their  leaving  New  York  the  Peruvian 
Minister  handed  Tucker  a  bag  of  gold,  with  which  he 
was  told  to  pay  all  the  traveling  expenses  of  himself 
and  staff ;  this  was  dong,  but  when  the  party  arrived 
at  Lima  the  bag  was  still  half  full.  Tucker  insisted 
on  returning  this  surplus  to  the  Government,  but 
there  was  no  precedent  for  such  a  thing,  and  it  was 
not  without  some  difficulty  that  there  could  be  found 
an  officer  of  the  treasury  authorized  to  receive  and 
receipt  for  the  unexpected  money. 


58  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

The  appointment  of  a  foreigner  to  command  their 
fleet  was  distasteful  to  some  of  the  Peruvian  officers, 
and  this  fact  coming  to  Tucker's  knowledge,  he  in- 
formed General  Prado,  the  President  of  the  Republic, 
that  he  had  no  wish  that  any  officer  should  be  forced 
to  serve  unwillingly  under  his  command,  and  pre- 
ferred resigning  if  the  dissatisfaction  at  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  stranger  to  command  the  fleet  was  general 
or  deep-seated.  The  officers  who  were  dissatisfied 
were  relieved  from  duty,  and  others  were  easily  found 
who  were  not  only  willing  but  anxious  to  serve  under 
Tucker. 

The  Peruvian  squadron  was  lying  at  Valparaiso 
when  Tucker  hoisted  his  flag  on  board  the  frigate 
Independencia.  The  Chilean  squadron  was  also  lying 
at  Valparaiso,  and  Tucker,  as  senior  officer  present, 
was  in  command  of  the  allied  fleets  of  both  Peru  and 
Chile. 

An  efficient  state  of  drill  and  discipline  was  soon 
established  in  the  fleets.  A  feeble  attempt  at  mutiny 
broke  out  on  one  occasion  during  the  temporary 
absence  of  Tucker,  but  it  was  easily  quelled  without 
bloodshed,  and  no  similar  attempt  was  ever  again 
made  whilst  Tucker  was  in  command.  Officers  of 
the  Peruvian  Navy,  who  were  themselves  opposed  to 
giving  foreigners  high  rank  in  their  service,  admitted 
that  the  fleet  had  never  been  in  so  good  a  condition 
for  effective  service  as  whilst  it  was  under  Tucker. 

The  Spanish  squadron  had  retired  from  the  coast, 
but  was  expected  to  return  as  soon  as  it  had  been  re- 
fitted and  revictualed,  but  no  apprehension  was  felt 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        59 

as  to  the  result  of  another  attack  by  the  Spanish, 
for  the  allied  fleets  were  believed  to  be  fully  equal 
to  the  task  of  protecting  the  coasts  and  ports  of  the 
Republics. 

Tucker's  plan  of  naval  operations  was  to  sail  with 
a  small  squadron,  composed  of  the  most  efficient  ves- 
sels under  his  command,  for  Manila,  a  most  impor- 
tant dependency  of  Spain  in  the  East  Indies.  He 
expected  to  take  the  Spaniards  entirely  by  surprise, 
to  capture  all  Spanish  vessels  in  port,  and  to  hold 
Manila  and  the  other  ports  of  the  Philippine  Islands 
until  peace  was  established. 

In  order  to  provide  for  the  reappearance  of  the 
Spanish  fleet  on  the  coast  during  his  absence,  Tucker 
advised  the  allied  Governments  to  enroll  as  a  naval 
reserve  all  the  Peruvian  and  Chilean  masters,  mates 
and  crews  of  merchant  vessels,  pilots  and  mariners 
engaged  in  employments  on  shore.  A  part  of  his 
plan  was  that  all  merchant  steamers  carrying  the  flags 
of  the  Republics,  which  could  be  made  available  for 
war  purposes,  should  be  inspected  and  held  ready  for 
active  service  in  the  Navy  and  manned  by  the  naval 
reserve  whenever  the  Government  should  thing  it 
necessary  to  employ  them.  This  force,  with  the  harbor 
defense  iron-clads,  and  the  forts  and  batteries  on 
shore,  Tucker  thought  would  be  a  sufficient  protec- 
tion for  the  coast,  whilst  his  squadron  of  the  most 
efficient  sea-going  vessels  was  absent  in  the  East 
Indies,  where  the  capture  of  Manila  would  have  dealt 
a  heavy  blow  to  Spain,  and  rendered  an  honorable 
peace,  carrying  with  it  an  acknowledgment  of  the  in- 


60  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

dependence  of  Peru  and  Chile,  a  matter  of  easy  attain- 
ment. 

This  plan,  which  would  probably  have  been  entirely 
successful  if  carried  out  with  skill,  daring  and  judg- 
ment, as  it  would  have  been  by  Tucker,  was  favorably 
considered  by  the  Governments  of  the  allied  Repub- 
lics, but  it  was  not  carried  out,  probably  on  account 
of  the  financial  embarrassments  under  which  the  Re- 
publics labored,  and  which  rendered  it  exceedingly 
difficult  to  find  the  funds  required  to  fit  out  the  ex- 
pedition. 

The  Manila  expedition  having  been  abandoned,  and 
the  Spanish  fleet  which  had  been  employed  on  the 
Pacific  coast  having  returned  home,  Tucker  requested 
permission  to  visit  Lima,  in  order  that  he  might  lay 
before  General  Prado,  President  of  the  Republic,  a 
plan  for  making  an  exploration  and  survey  of  the 
Peruvian  or  Upper  Amazon  River  and  its  tributaries. 
The  President  heartily  approved  of  the  enterprise, 
for  the  Government  was  at  that  very  time  considering 
the  practicability  of  opening  better  communications 
between  the  west  coast  and  the  eastern  part  of  the 
country,  and  of  finding  an  outlet  by  the  waters  of  the 
Amazon  for  the  rich  productions  of  the  interior. 

Tucker  resigned  his  commission  as  rear-admiral  in 
the  Navy  of  the  Republic,  and  was  immediately  ap- 
pointed President  of  the  Peruvian  Hydrographical 
Commission  of  the  Amazon.  He  left  Lima  with  a 
full  corps  of  assistants,  and  made  his  way  across  the 
mountains  to  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Palcazu 
river,  where  the  party  was  received  on  board  a  Gov- 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        61 

ernment  steamer  that  had  been  dispatched  from 
Iquitos  to  meet  them.  The  headquarters  of  the  Com- 
mission was  established  at  Iquitos,  the  principal  set- 
tlement on  the  Upper  Amazon  river,  and  the  place 
where  the  Government  factories  and  magazines  were 
located. 

In  the  small  steamer  Naps.,  belonging  to  the  Gov- 
ernment, Tucker  made  an  exploring  expedition  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  up  Yavari,  the  river 
which  forms  the  boundary  between  Peru  and  Brazil. 

None  of  the  Peruvian  steamers  on  the  Amazon 
being  suitable  for  exploring  and  surveying  purposes, 
the  Government  at  Lima  ordered  Tucker  to  proceed 
to  the  United  States  and  procure  such  a  vessel  as 
was  required  for  the  duty  pertaining  to  his  Commis- 
sion. In  obedience  to  this  order  Tucker  spent  some 
months  in  the  United  States,  and  had  a  steamer 
built  by  Messrs.  Pusey,  Jones  &  Co.,  of  Wilmington, 
Delaware,  expressly  adapted  to  the  navigation  of  the 
shoals  and  rapids  of  the  Upper  Amazon.  This  ves- 
sel, named  the  Tambo,  was  delivered  to  Tucker  at 
Para,  the  Brazilian  city  at  the  mouth  of  the  Lower 
Amazon.  Embarking  on  board  the  Tambo,  Tucker 
took  the  steamer  up  the  river  to  Iquitos,  where  sup- 
plies were  taken  on  board  sufficient  to  last  for  sev- 
eral months.  He  then  proceeded  to  make  an  im- 
portant expedition  up  the  Upper  Amazon,  the  Uca- 
yali  and  the  Tambo  rivers.  The  Tambo  river  had 
never  been  explored,  and  it  was  thought  that  it  pre- 
sented a  feasible  route  for  navigation  to  San  Ramon, 
a  military  station  in  the  heart  of  the  interior,  only 


<52  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

about  thirty  miles  distant  from  the  large  and  impor- 
tant city  of  Tarmo,  which  is  connected  by  railway 
with  Lima. 

Leaving  Iquitos,  the  Tambo,  with  the  Commission 
on  board,  passed  up  the  Amazon  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Ucayali  river,  up  the  Ucayali  past  the  rapids  of  the 
"  Devil's  Leap,"  and  entered  the  Tambo  river.  The 
Tambo  was  found  to  be  a  narrow  stream,  full  of 
rocks  and  rapids  and  not  practicable  for  navigation 
by  steamers.  When  the  steamer  Tambo  could  ascend 
no  higher,  Tucker  fitted  out  a  small  boat  and  pulled 
some  twenty  miles  farther  up  the  river,  but  every- 
where found  such  obstructions  as  rendered  it  an  im- 
practicable route  to  the  interior.  It  is,  perhaps,  to 
be  regretted  that  time  did  not  allow  of  an  examina- 
tion of  the  other  affluents  of  the  Usayali  trending 
towards  San  Ramon  and  Tarmo. 

On  his  return  to  Iquitos,  Tucker  was  again  dis- 
patched to  the  United  States  to  procure  another  and 
smaller  exploring  steamer.  During  his  absence  Cap- 
tain James  Henry  Rochelle  was  directed  by  the  Gov- 
ernment at  Lima  to  take  charge  of  the  Hydrograph- 
ical  Commission  as  its  acting  president. 

After  an  absence  of  some  months,  Tucker  re- 
turned to  Iquitos  with  the  new  steamer,  which  was 
named  the  Mayro,  and  was  little  more  than  a  large 
steam  launch,  intended  for  use  where  a  vessel  of 
greater  draught  of  water  could  not  be  employed. 

The  next  expedition  decided  upon  was  for  the  ex- 
ploration of  the  water  route  towards  Huanaco,  by 
way  of  the  entirely  unknown  river  Pichis.  Most  of 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        03 

the  tributaries  of  the  Ucayali  had  been  traveled  more 
or  less  by  the  Jesuit  priests  from  the  College  of 
Ocopa,  but  none  of  them  had  attempted  the  route  of 
the  Pichis,  the  banks  of  which  were  in  possession  of 
roving  tribes  of  Indians,  who  permitted  no  stranger 
to  pass  through  their  country.  It  was  thought  pos- 
sible, and  even  probable,  from  the  stories  told  by  the 
natives,  that  the  head  of  the  Pichis  river  would  be 
found  well  suited  for  being  the  eastern  terminus  of 
the  trans-Andean  railway. 

In  February,  1873,  the  Mayro,  with  a  detachment 
of  the  Commission  on  board,  was  dispatched  from 
Iquitos,  with  orders  to  await  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Pachitea  river  the  coming  of  the  Tambo.  Tucker 
embarked  on  board  the  Tambo  on  the  ist  of  April 
with  the  main  body  of  the  Commission,  and  arrived 
at  the  confluence  of  the  Pachitea  and  Ucayali,  seven 
hundred  and  sixty-five  miles  from  Iquitos,  on  the 
1 3th  of  May.  The  river  had  commenced  to  fall, 
which  rendered  it  prudent  not  to  ascend  the  Pachitea 
in  steamers,  for  had  one  of  them  got  aground  whilst 
the  water  was  falling,  it  would  probably  have  re- 
mained in  that  situation  until  the  next  annual  rise  of 
the  river. 

The  water  of  the  Amazon,  and  the  same  may  be 
said  of  all  its  tributaries,  begins  to  rise  about  October, 
and  continues  to  increase  its  flood  until  December. 
In  December  there  is  a  short  period  of  no  rise,  or 
perhaps  even  a  slight  fall,  after  which  the  river 
again  continues  to  rise  until  May,  when  the  perma- 
nent fall  commences  and  continues  until  the  follow- 


64  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

ing  October,  when  the  annual  flood  again  sets  in. 
Sand  bars  are  constantly  forming  and  shifting  in  the 
channel  of  the  river,  and  for  a  steamer  to  run  on 
one  of  them  whilst  the  water  is  falling  endangers 
the  detention  of  the  vessel  until  she  is  floated  off 
by  the  annual  rise  in  October. 

The  annual  fall  of  the  river  having  set  in  when  the 
Tambo  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Pachitea,  Tucker 
determined  to  continue  the  expedition  in  canoes.  Six 
of  the  largest  and  best  canoes  that  could  be  procured 
from  the  Indians  were  fitted  out,  and  the  whole  Com- 
mission embarked  in  them,  accompanied  by  its  escort 
of  a  dozen  Peruvian  soldiers  under  the  command  of 
Major  Ramon  Herrera. 

From  the  ipth  to  the  3Oth  of  May  the  Commission 
prosecuted  its  survey  of  the  Pachitea  without  inter- 
ruption, but  on  the  3Oth,  at  a  place  called  Cherrecles 
Chingana,  fifteen  or  twenty  Cashibo  Indians  came 
down  to  the  left  or  north  bank  of  the  river,  and  by 
signs  and  gestures  signified  a  desire  for  friendly 
communication.  The  canoes  were  paddled  in  to 
them,  and  some  few  presents  of  such  articles  as  could 
be  spared  were  distributed  among  them,  and,  appa- 
rently, received  most  thankfully.  But  the  Cashibos 
did  not  let  the  occasion  pass  without  showing  the 
treachery  for  which  they  are  notorious.  When  the 
interview  was  ended,  seemingly  in  the  most  amicable 
manner,  and  as  the  canoes  of  the  Commission  were 
paddling  off,  a  flight  of  arrows  was  discharged  at 
them  by  a  party  of  Cashibos  who  had  been  lying  in 
ambush  during  the  interview.  A  few  volleys  from 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        65 

the  Remington  rifles,  with  which  all  the  members  of 
the  Commission  were  armed,  soon  dispersed  the  sav- 
ages and  drove  them  to  the  jungle. 

Of  all  the  savage  tribes  that  roam  about  the  head 
waters  of  the  Ucayali,  the  Cashibos  alone  are  canni- 
bals. They  are  brave,  cunning  and  treacherous,  and 
are  only  surpassed  by  the  Campas  in  their  hatred  of 
the  white  man.  The  Campas  inhabit  the  spurs  and 
hills  at  the  foot  of  the  eastern  Cordilleras,  where  the 
Ucayali  and  Pichis  rivers  have  their  origin.  They  are 
a  fierce,  proud  and  numerous  tribe,  and  are  held  in 
great  fear  by  their  lowland  neighbors.  They  permit 
no  strangers,  especially  no  whites,  to  enter  their  coun- 
try, and  the  members  of  the  expedition  under  Tucker 
were  the  first  white  men  who  ever  ascended  the 
Pichis  into  the  regions  of  this  warlike  tribe. 

The  canoes  of  the  expedition  entered  the  mouth  of 
the  Pichis  on  the  6th  of  June.  Being  an  unknown 
river,  it  became  necessary  to  give  names  to  the  prom- 
inent points  as  they  were  discovered ;  and  these  names 
were  used  subsequently  in  making  the  charts  of  the 
surveys  of  the  Commission. 

The  navigation  of  the  Pichis  was  found  to  be  clear 
and  unobstructed  from  its  mouth  for  a  distance  of 
fifteen  miles  up  to  Rochelle  Island,  which  is  in  lati- 
tude 9°  57'  n"  south,  longitude  75°  2'  o"  west  of 
Greenwich,  and  three  thousand  one  hundred  miles 
from  the  Atlantic  coast,  following  the  course  of  the 
Amazon  river.  Rochelle  Island  was  reached  on  the 
7th  of  June,  and  was  named  after  Captain  James 
Henry  Rochelle,  the  senior  member  of  the  Commis- 


66  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

sion.  Any  steamer  which  can  navigate  the  Pachitea 
can  ascend  the  Pichis  this  far  without  difficulty,  but 
above  Rochelle  Island  the  navigation  becomes  more 
difficult,  and  probably  impracticable  for  any  but 
steamers  of  very  light  draught  and  strong  steam 
power. 

On  the  1 5th  of  June  the  expedition  arrived  at  the 
head  of  canoe  navigation  on  the  Pichis.  The  point 
was  named  Port  Tucker,  after  the  president  of  the 
Commission.  Port  Tucker  is  in  latitude  10°  22'  55" 
south,  longitude  74°  49'  o"  west  of  Greenwich,  dis- 
tant three  thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven 
miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Amazon,  following  the 
course  of  the  river,  and  one  hundred  and  ninety  miles 
in  a  direct  line  from  the  Pacific  coast.  The  lofty 
mountains  so  plainly  in  sight  from  Port  Tucker  are 
the  eastern  spurs  of  the  Andes,  the  chosen  land  of  the 
savage  and  numerous  Campas  Indians. 

Several  days  before  the  expedition  reached  the 
shoals  which  terminate  the  navigation  of  the  Pichis, 
the  tom-toms  or  drums  of  the  Campas  were  heard 
night  and  day  beating  the  assembly  of  the  warriors. 
The  purpose  for  which  the  braves  were  to  be  assem- 
bled was  not  a  matter  about  which  there  was  the  least 
doubt,  but  probably  sufficient  numbers  were  not  got 
together  in  time  to  execute  their  intentions,  for  no 
attack  was  made  on  the  Commission  whilst  it  was  in 
the  Campas  country. 

During  this  expedition  the  Palcazu  river  was  also 
ascended  to  Port  Prado,  or  Puerto  del  Mairo,  the 
head  of  navigation  for  steamers  of  light  draught. 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        67 

Port  Prado  is  in  latitude  9°  55'  22"  south,  longitude 
75°  17'  45"  west  of  Greenwich,  distant  three  thousand 
one  hundred  and  nineteen  miles  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Amazon,  following  the  river,  and  only  about 
forty  miles  from  the  important  interior  city  of  Huan- 
aco,  to  which  place  it  is  in  contemplation  to  extend 
the  trans- Andean  railway.  If  the  road  were  con- 
tinued from  Huanaco  to  Port  Prado  there  would  be  a 
complete  trans-continental  line  of  communication  by 
railway  and  steamboats  from  Lima  in  Peru  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Amazon. 

Two  new  rivers  were  discovered  by  the  Commis- 
sion flowing  into  the  Pichis.  One  of  them  was  named 
the  Trinidad,  from  having  been  discovered  on  Trin- 
ity Sunday,  and  the  other  was  called  Herrera-yacu, 
after  Major  Ramon  Herrera,  of  the  Peruvian  Army, 
who  commanded  the  escort  of  the  Commission.  The 
supplies  of  the  expedition  were  running  too  short  to 
allow  of  any  but  a  cursory  examination  of  these  two 
rivers.  The  Trinidad,  trending  to  the  westward,  can 
only  be  of  value  as  affording  a  water  route  to  the 
plains  lying  between  the  Pichis  and  the  Ucayali,  but 
it  is  possible  that  the  Herrera-yacu  may  furnish  a 
nearer  water  route  to  Cerro  de  Pasco  than  any  yet 
known. 

Whilst  the  canoes  of  the  Commission  were  descend- 
ing the  Pachitea,  they  were  attacked  by  the  Cashibos, 
who  assembled  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  and,  waiting 
until  the  leading  canoes  had  passed,  let  fly  flights  of 
arrows  at  the  canoe  which  brought  up  the  rear.  The 
Cashibos  were  dispersed  by  a  few  rounds  from  the 


68  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

Remington  rifles  of  the  Commission,  and  the  explor- 
ers met  with  no  further  forcible  opposition  on  the 
way  to  the  steamers  awaiting  them  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Pachitea,  where  they  arrived  after  a  canoe  voy- 
age of  forty-one  days,  during  which  many  difficulties 
and  some  dangers  were  encountered  and  overcome. 
Not  a  single  person  under  Tucker's  command  was 
killed,  or  died  from  sickness,  during  this  expedition, 
and,  singular  to  relate,  after  all  the  hardships  and 
exposure  endured  the  explorers  were  in  much  better 
health  when  they  returned  to  their  steamers  than 
when  they  left  them  at  the  beginning  of  the  expedi- 
tion. 

On  the  1 5th  of  July,  1873,  the  steamers  Tambo  and 
Mayro,  comprising  the  exploring  squadron,  reached 
Iquitos  after  an  absence  of  three  months  and  ten 
days.  From  the  I5th  of  July  to  the  i8th  of  Septem- 
ber the  Hydrographical  Commission  was  on  shore 
at  Iquitos,  employed  making  charts  of  the  surveys  of 
the  late  expedition,  whilst  the  steamers  were  being  re- 
fitted for  further  service. 

On  the  1 8th  of  September  the  Commission  again 
embarked  and  proceeded  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ya- 
vari  river,  which  forms  the  boundary  between  Peru 
and  Brazil.  The  greatest  pains  were  taken  to  prop- 
erly establish  this  point.  On  a  small  island  in  the 
middle  of  the  river,  and  very  near  its  confluence  with 
the  Amazon,  many  astronomical  observations  were 
taken,  resulting  in  giving  the  latitude  4°  18'  45" 
south,  longitude  69°  53'  10"  west  of  Greenwich,  the 
distance  from  the  Atlantic  coast  by  the  courses  of  the 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        60 

Amazon  being  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
eleven  miles.  From  the  Brazilian  frontier  the  main 
stream  of  the  Amazon  was  surveyed  and  its  tributa- 
ries examined  by  the  Commission  up  to  Borja,  where 
the  river  rushes  from  a  narrow  gorge  of  the  moun- 
tains and  leaps  into  the  lowlands.  Borja  is  in  latitude 
4°  31'  37  south,  longitude  77°  29'  43"  west  of  Green- 
wich. From  the  Atlantic  coast  to  Borja,  a  distance 
of  two  thousand  six  hundred  and  sixty  miles,  the 
Amazon  is  navigable,  without  serious  obstruction  or 
difficulty,  for  either  river  or  sea-going  steamers  of 
several  hundred  tons  burthen. 

It  would  take  many  long  years  to  make  a  thor- 
ough survey  of  the  waters  of  the  Amazon,  which  is, 
in  fact,  more  of  an  inland  sea  than  a  river,  with  hun- 
dreds of  branches  forming  a  network  of  communicat- 
ing channels  extending  for  sixty  or  seventy  miles  on 
each  side  of  the  main  stream.  At  the  height  of  the 
annual  floods  the  whole  country,  with  the  exception 
of  the  highest  land,  on  which  the  towns  are  invar- 
iably built,  is  covered  with  water,  forming  a  vast 
swamp  and  jungle,  traversed  in  every  direction  by 
navigable  channels,  which  at  the  season  of  low  waters 
become  rivers  or  natural  canals. 

The  principal  object  for  which  the  Commission 
presided  over  by  Tucker  had  been  instituted  was  ac- 
complished when  the  main  channels  of  the  river  and 
of  its  affluents  was  traced  from  the  Peruvian  and 
Brazilian  frontiers  to  the  head  of  navigation  of  the 
main  river  and  of  its  tributaries,  so  as  to  show  the 


70  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

nearest  approach  by  water  communication  to  the  east- 
ern terminus  of  the  trans-Andean  railway.  This  duty 
having  been  executed,  Tucker  was  ordered  to  pro- 
ceed to  Lima  for  conference  with  the  Government 
as  to  the  results  of  the  explorations  and  surveys  he 
had  made. 

After  consultation  with  Tucker,  Sefior  Pardo,  the 
President  of  the  Republic,  directed  that  charts  of  the 
surveys  made  by  the  Hydrographical  Commission 
should  be  published  in  New  York,  and  that  Tucker 
and  two  members  of  the  Commission  should  be  de- 
tailed to  prepare  the  work  for  the  press  and  super- 
intend the  engraving  of  the  plates.  The  other  mem- 
bers of  the  Commission  returned  to  their  homes, 
having  completed  the  duty  for  which  they  were  en- 
gaged. 

There  were  some  changes  from  time  to  time  in  the 
Peruvian  Hydrographical  Commission  of  the  Ama- 
zon, but  the  following  list  of  its  members  may  be 
taken  as  correct : 

President — John  Randolph  Tucker.  Members — 
James  Henry  Rochelle,  David  Porter  McCorkle. 
Walter  Raleigh  Butt.  Secretaries — Timoteo  Smith, 
Maurice  Mesnier.  Surgeon — Francis  Land  Gait. 
Civil  Engineers — Manuel  Charron,  Manuel  Rosas, 
Thomas  Wing  Sparrow,  Nelson  Berkeley  Noland. 
Steam  Engineers — John  W.  Durfey,  David  W.  Bains. 

On  arriving  in  the  United  States,  Tucker  estab- 
lished an  office  in  New  York,  and,  assisted  by  Cap- 
tain Rochelle  and  Mr.  Sparrow,  soon  had  the  charts 
and  plans,  with  explanatory  notes,  ready  for  the 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        71 

hands  of  the  printers  and  engravers;  but  in  conse- 
quence of  the  financial  difficulties  into  which  Peru 
had  fallen,  the  publication  was  delayed  from  time  to 
time  and  finally  abandoned  altogether,  as  is  shown 
by  the  following  letter  from  Senor  Pardo,  President 
of  the  Republic : 

LIMA,  Marzo  13,  1877. 
''  Sr.  J.  R.  Tucker. 

"  59  Broadway,  New  York  City. 

"Estimado  amigo : — He  recibido  su  apreciable  carta 
de  10  del  pasado,  que  me  es  grato  contestar  manifes- 
tandole  que  las  graves  dificultades  economicas  porgue 
hoi  atravissa  la  Republica,  oblejan  el  Gobierno  a  dar 
por  terminada  la  comiseon  de  que  fue  ud  encargado 
para  la  publicacion  de  los  Mapas  y  Cartas  topografi- 
cas  de  las  regiones  Amazonicas. 

"  En  esta  virtud,  se  sirvira  ud.  entregar  al  senor 
Freyre,  Ministro  del  Peru  en  Washington,  las  refori- 
das  Cartos,  Mapas,  y  todas  las  demas  utiles  pertene- 
cientes  al  Gobierno  del  Peru,  que  hoi  existen  en  poder 
de  la  Comision  que  ud.  preside;  todo  bajo  de  inuen- 
tario  y  con  las  formalidades  necesarias. 

"  En  cuanto  al  pagar  de  sus  suldos  y  los  de  los 
Sennores  que  forman  parte  de  esa  Comision,  he 
ordinado  al  Ministro  de  Hacienda  disponga  lo  con- 
veniente  para  su  pronto  abono,  y  juzgo  que  asi-luego 
les  servan  completamente  satisfechos. 

"  Deseandole  a  ud.  la  mejor  conservacion,  me  as 
grato  reiterarle  las  expresiones  de  mi  amistad  y  par- 
ticular estima." 

"  Su  afrino  S.  S. 

"  PARDO." 


72  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

[TRANSLATION.] 

"  LIMA,  March  13,  1877. 
"  /.  R.  Tucker,  Esq. 

"  39  Broadway,  New  York  City. 

"  Esteemed  Friend: — I  have  received  and  answer 
with  pleasure  your  appreciated  letter  of  the  loth 
ultimo,  apprising  you  that  the  grave  economical  diffi- 
culties which  at  present  afflict  the  Republic,  obliges 
the  Government  to  order  the  termination  of  the  com- 
mission with  which  you  are  charged  for  the  publica- 
tion of  the  maps  and  charts  of  the  Amazonian  re- 
gions. 

"  For  this  reason,  you  will  be  pleased  to  deliver  to 
Mr.  Freyre,  Minister  of  Peru  in  Washington,  the  re- 
ferred to  charts,  maps  and  all  other  articles  belonging 
to  the  Government  of  Peru,  which  now  remain  in 
charge  of  the  Commission  over  which  you  preside; 
all  to  be  delivered  under  inventories  and  with  the 
necessary  forms. 

"  In  regard  to  the  payment  of  the  salaries  of  your- 
self and  the  other  gentlemen  who  form  part  of  the 
Commission,  I  have  ordered  the  Minister  of  the 
Treasury  to  take  measures  for  the  prompt  disburse- 
ment of  what  may  be  due,  and  I  judge  that  in  a  short 
times  these  claims  will  be  completely  satisfied. 

"  With  my  best  wishes,  it  gives  me  pleasure  to 
repeat  the  expression  of  my  friendship  and  partic- 
ular esteem. 

"  Truly  your  faithful  Servt, 

"  PARDO." 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        73 

In  compliance  with  the  directions  of  President 
Pardo,  the  charts  made  by  the  Commission  were  de- 
livered to  the  Peruvian  Legation  at  Washington. 
These  charts  were  all  ready  for  publication,  and  had 
they  been  published  would  have  afforded  much  valu- 
able information  in  regard  to  the  Upper  Amazon  and 
its  tributaries,  water  courses  which  are  daily  becom- 
ing more  and  more  important  to  commerce,  and  which 
are  destined  in  the  not  distant  future  to  be  navigated 
by  lines  of  ocean  as  well  as  by  lines  of  river  steamers. 

The  following  letter  from  Colonel  Manuel  Freyre, 
Peruvian  Minister  at  Washington,  describes  the 
charts  and  plans  which  Tucker  delivered  to  the  Lega- 
tion, and  which  it  is  to  be  hoped  are  still  preserved : 

"  Legation  del  Peru. 
"  WASHINGTON,  Marzo  22  de  1877. 
"  Senor  Don  Juan  R.  Tucker,  Ex-Presidente  de  la 
Comision  Hidrogranca  del  Amazonas. 

"  La  caja  que  dijo  le.  depositada  en  poder  del  Con- 
sul Tracy,  ha  sido  recibida  en  esta  Legacion,  y  con- 
tiene  los  siguientes  pianos ;  a  saber : 

"  1st.  Un  piano  del  Rio  Amazonas  Peruano,  desde 
lo  boca  del  rio  Yavari  hasta  Borja,  termino  de  la 
navegacion  a  vapor,  dibujado  sobre  diez  pliegos  y  en 
una  escala  de  una  pulgada  por  cada  das  millas.  Los 
rios  Ytaya  y  Pastaza  estan  incluidos  en  esta  Piano, 
que  cuenta  848  millas  del  rio  Peruano  Amazonas,  45 
millas  del  rio  Ytaya,  y  7  millas  del  rio  Pastaza." 

"  2d.  Un  piano  del  rio  Yavari  desde  su  boca  hasta 
la  confluencia  de  los  rios  Yacarana  y  Yavarasina, 


74  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

dibujado,  sobre  das  pliegos  y  en  una  escala  de  una 
pulgada  por  cada  dos  millas.  Este  piano  cuenta  220 
millas  del  rio  Yavari. 

"  3d.  Un  piano  del  rio  Nanay  desde  su  boca  hasta 
el  termino  de  la  navegacion  para  vapores  de  poco 
calado  debujado  sobre  dos  pliegos.  Este  piano  con- 
tiene  160  millas  del  rio  Nanay. 

"  4th.  Un  piano  del  rio  Tigre-Yacu  desde  su  boca 
hasta  un  punto  HI  millas  aniba  de  la  boca,  dibujado 
sobre  dos  pliegos  y  en  una  escala  de  una  pulgada  por 
cada  dos  millas." 

"  5th.  Un  piano  del  rio  Huallaga  desde  la  boca 
hasta  Rumi-Callirina,  el  termino  de  la  navegacion 
para  vapores,  dibujado  sobre  dos  pliegos  y  en  una 
escala  de  una  pulgada  por  cada  dos  millas.  Este 
piano  cuenta  169  millas  del  rio  Huallaga. 

"  6th.  Un  piano  del  rio  Morona  desde  su  boca 
hasta  un  punto  37  millas  arriba  de  dicha  boca,  dibu- 
jado sobre  un  pliego  y  en  una  escala  de  una  pulgada 
por  cada  dos  millas." 

"  7th.  Un  piano  del  rio  Potro  desde  la  boca  hasta 
el  termino  de  la  navegacion  para  vapores  de  poco 
calada,  dibujada  sobre  un  pliego  y  en  una  escala  de 
una  pulgada  por  cada  dos  millas.  Este  piano  con- 
tiene  64  millas  del  rio  Potro. 

"  8th.  Un  piano  del  rio  Ucayali  desde  la  boca  hasta 
la  confluencia  de  los  rios  Urubamba  y  Tambo,  dibu- 
jado sobre  nueve  pliegos  y  en  una  escala  de  una  pul- 
gada por  cada  das  millas.  Los  rios  Urubamba  y 
Tambo,  desde  sus  bocas  hasta  el  mas  alto  punto 
donde  espracticable  la  navegacion  a  vapor,  estan 
incluidos  en  este  piano,  que  contiene  885  millas  del 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        75 

rio  Ucayali,  24  millas  del  rio  Urubamba,  y  53  millas 
del  rio  Tambo." 

"gth.  Un  piano  del  rio  Pachitea  desde  su  boca 
hasta  la  confluencia  de  los  rios  Palcazu  y  Pichis, 
dibujado  sobre  dos  pliegos  y  en  una  escala  de  una 
pulgada  por  cada  dos  millas.  Este  piano  contiene  191 
millas  del  rio  Pachitea." 

"loth.  Un  piano  del  rio  Palcazu  desde  la  boca 
hasta  el  puerto  del  Mairo,  dibujado  sobre  un  pliego 
y  en  una  escala  de  una  pulgada  por  cada  dos  millas. 
Estate  piano  contiene  37  millas  del  rio  Palcazu. 

"  nth.  Un  piano  del  rio  Pichis  desde  la  boca  hasta 
el  termino  de  navegacion  en  canoas,  dibujado  sobre 
un  pliego  y  en  una  escala  de  una  pulgada  por  cada 
dos  millas.  Una  parte  del  rio  Herrera-yacu  y  otro 
parte  del  rio  Trinidad  se  hallan  en  este  piano,  que 
contiene  85  millas  del  rio  Pichis,  4  millas  del  rio  Trin- 
idad, y  5  millas  del  rio  Herrera-yacu. 

"  I2th.  Un  piano  del  rio  Amazonas  Peruano  y  sus 
afluentes,  dibujados  sobre  un  pliego  y  en  una  escala 
de  una  pulgada  por  cada  quince  millas.  Este  plana 
contiene  1661  millas  del  rio  Amazonas  Peruano  y 
sus  afluentes. 

"  1 3th.  Todas  las  mencionadas  pianos  estan  dibu- 
jados sobre  treinta  y  cinco  pliegos,  siendo  cada  pliego 
treinta  pulgados  de  largo  por  quince  pulgada  de 
ancho. 

"  I4th.  Un  piano  del  rio  Amazonas  Peruano  y  sus 
afluentes,  dibujado  sabre  un  pliego  y  en  una  escala  de 
una  pulgada  por  cada  diez  millas,  siendo  el  pliego 
cines  pies  de  largo  por  cinco  pies  de  ancho.  Este 
piano  contiene  en  un  solo  pliego  todos  los  reconoci- 


76  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

mientos  verificados  por  la  Comision  Hidrografica  del 
Amazonas,  que  son  por  todo  2945  millas. 

"  Loo  demas  pianos  dan  los  mismos  reconocimien- 
tos  mas  detalladamenente. 

"i5th.  Un  piano  del  pueblo  de  Yquitos,  dibujado 
sobre  un  pliego. 

"  Dios  que  a  le. 

"  MANL.  FREYRE/' 
[TRANSLATION.] 

"  Legation  of  Peru. 
"  WASHINGTON,  March  22d,  1877. 
"  John  R.  Tucker,  Esq.,  Ex-President  of  the  Hydro- 
graphical  Commission  of  the  Amazon. 

"  The  box  deposited  by  you  with  Consul  Tracy 
has  been  received  at  this  Legation,  and  contains  the 
following  charts,  to  wit : 

"  ist.  A  chart  of  the  Peruvian  Amazon  river,  from 
the  mouth  of  the  River  Yavari  to  Borja,  the  termina- 
tion of  steam  navigation,  drawn  upon  ten  sheets,  and 
on  a  scale  of  one  inch  to  each  two  miles.  The  Rivers 
Itaya  and  Pastaza  are  included  in  this  chart,  which 
contains  848  miles  of  the  Peruvian  Amazon  river,  45 
miles  of  the  Itaya  river,  and  7  miles  of  the  Pastaza 
river. 

"  2d.  A  chart  of  the  Yavari  river  from  its  mouth 
to  the  confluence  of  the  Rivers  Yacarana  and  Ya- 
varasino,  drawn  upon  two  sheets  and  on  a  scale  of 
one  inch  for  each  two  miles,  This  chart  comprises 
220  miles  of  the  Yavari  river. 

"  3d.  A  chart  of  the  River  Nanay  from  its  mouth 
to  the  termination  of  navigation  for  steamers  of  light 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        77 

draught,  drawn  upon  two  sheets  and  on  a  scale  of  one 
inch  for  each  two  miles.  This  chart  contains  160 
miles  of  the  River  Nanay. 

"  4th.  A  chart  of  the  River  Tigre-yacu,  from  its 
mouth  to  a  point  in  miles  above  its  mouth,  drawn 
upon  two  sheets  and  on  a  scale  of  one  inch  for  each 
two  miles. 

"  5th.  A  chart  of  the  River  Huallaga,  from  its 
mouth  to  Rumi-Callirina,  the  termination  of  steamer 
navigation,  drawn  upon  two  sheets  and  on  a  scale  of 
one  inch  for  each  two  miles.  This  chart  comprises 
169  miles  of  the  Huallaga  river. 

"  6th.  A  chart  of  the  River  Morona,  from  its  mouth 
to  a  point  37  miles  above  its  mouth,  drawn  upon  one 
sheet  and  on  a  scale  of  one  inoh  for  each  two  miles. 

"  7th.  A  chart  of  the  River  Patro,  from  its  mouth 
to  the  termination  of  navigation  for  steamers  of  small 
draught,  drawn  upon  one  sheet  and  on  a  scale  of  one 
inch  for  each  two  miles.  This  chart  contains  64  miles 
of  the  Patro  river. 

"  8th.  A  chart  of  the  River  Ucayali,  from  its  mouth 
to  the  confluence  of  the  Rivers  Urubamba  and 
Tambo,  drawn  upon  nine  sheets  and  on  a  scale  of  one 
inch  for  each  two  miles.  The  Rivers  Urubamba  and 
Tambo,  from  their  mouths  to  the  highest  point  to 
which  steamer  navigation  is  practicable,  are  included 
in  this  chart,  which  contains  885  miles  of  the  River 
Ucayali,  24  miles  of  the  River  Urubamba,  and  53 
miles  of  the  River  Tambo. 

"  pth.  A  chart  of  the  River  Pachitea,  from  its 
mouth  to  the  confluence  of  the  Rivers  Palcazu  and 
Pichis,  drawn  upon  two  sheets  and  on  a  scale  of  one 


78  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

inch  for  each  two  miles.     This  chart  contains  191 
miles  of  the  River  Pachitea. 

"  loth.  A  chart  of  the  River  Palcazu,  from  its 
mouth  to  Port  Mairo,  drawn  upon  one  sheet  and  on 
a  scale  of  one  inch  each  for  two  miles.  This  chart 
contains  37  miles  of  the  River  Palcazu. 

"nth.  A  chart  of  the  Pechis  river,  from  its  mouth 
to  the  termination  of  canoe  navigation,  drawn  upon 
one  sheet  and  on  a  scale  of  one  inch  for  each  two 
miles.  A  part  of  the  River  Herrera-yacu,  and  also  a 
part  of  the  River  Trinidad,  are  included  in  this  chart, 
which  contains  85  miles  of  the  River  Pichis,  4  miles  of 
the  River  Trinidad,  and  5  miles  of  the  River  Herrera- 
yacu. 

"  I2th.  A  chart  of  the  Peruvian  Amazon  river  and 
its  affluents,  drawn  upon  one  sheet  and  on  a  scale  of 
one  inch  for  each  15  miles.  This  chart  contains  1661 
miles  of  the  Peruvian  Amazon  river  and  its  affluents. 
"  I3th.  A  chart  of  the  River  Ucayali  and  its  afflu- 
ents, drawn  upon  one  sheet  and  on  a  scale  of  one  inch 
for  each  15  miles.  This  chart  contains  1284  miles  of 
the  River  Ucayali  and  its  affluents. 

"  All  the  above  mentioned  charts  are  drawn  upon 
35  sheets,  each  sheet  being  30  inches  long  and  15 
inches  broad. 

"  1 4th.  A  chart  of  the  Peruvian  Amazon  river  and 
its  affluents,  drawn  upon  one  sheet  and  on  a  scale  of 
one  inch  for  each  ten  miles,  the  sheet  being  5  feet  long 
by  5  feet  broad.  This  chart  contains,  on  one  single 
sheet,  all  the  surveys  made  by  the  Hydrographical 
Commission  of  the  Amazon.  The  other  charts  give 
the  same  surveys  more  in  detail. 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        79 

"  1 5th.  A  plan  of  the  town  of  Iquitos,  drawn  upon 
one  sheet. 

"  May  God  guard  you. 

"  MANL.  FREYRE." 

Tucker  was.  in  the  sixty-seventh  year  of  his  age 
when  he  retired  to  his  home  in  the  City  of  Petersburg, 
Virginia,  where  he  had  purchased  a  comfortable  house 
with  a  lawn  and  garden  attached.  Here  he  passed 
the  evening  of  an  active  life  in  the  enjoyment  of  a 
private  fortune,  which,  though  not  large,  was  suffi- 
cient to  supply  all  his  moderate  wants  and  simple 
tastes.  Relatives  and  friends  frequently  visited  him ; 
he  read  much,  and  books,  especially  the  older  English 
classics,  were  a  source  of  much  pleasure  to  him ;  the 
improvement  of  his  lawn  and  garden  was  a  pursuit 
which  afforded  him  unfailing  interest  and  occupation. 

On  the  I2th  of  June,  1883,  he  was  apparently  in  his 
usual  good  health.  In  the  course  of  the  morning  a 
friend  called  on  him,  and  they  conversed  together  for 
some  time,  seated  in  the  shade  of  a  tree  on  the  lawn. 
His  friend  having  taken  his  departure,  Tucker  reseat- 
ed himself  for  a  few  minutes  in  his  chair,  suddenly 
arose,  straightened  up  his  tall  form  to  its  full  height, 
and  fell  forward — dead.  Physicians  were  imme- 
diately summoned,  but  all  the  efforts  to  revive  him 
were  ineffectual.  He  had  died  from  disease  of  the 
heart ;  passing  away  from  this  world  without  a  strug- 
gle or  a  sigh,  and  going  where  souls  as  pure  as  his 
have  nothing  to  fear. 

His  remains  were  taken  to  Norfolk,  Virginia, 
where  they  were  received  by  old  friends  and  com- 
rades, who  knew  and  loved  him  well,  and  interred 


80  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

by  the  side  of  his  wife's  grave,  in  a  beautiful  private 
cemetery  near  the  city. 

Admiral  Tucker  possessed  many  of  the  qualities 
of  a  great  commander.  His  judgment  was  excellent, 
and  it  was  very  rarely  the  case  that  he  was  mistaken 
as  to  what  it  was  possible  for  the  force  at  his  disposal 
to  accomplish.  He  always  commanded  the  respect 
and  confidence,  as  well  as  the  good  will,  of  his  men. 
A  strict  disciplinarian,  the  prompt  and  unhesitating 
obedience  to  orders  he  exacted  was  cheerfully  ren- 
dered by  his  subordinates.  His  plans  were  coolly 
and  deliberately  formed,  and,  having  been  once  deter- 
mined upon,  were  carried  out  with  energy  and  reso- 
lution. In  the  ordinary  intercourse  of  private  life  he 
was  so  gentle,  generous  and  genial  that  his  friends 
and  associates  felt  for  him  a  regard  approaching  af- 
fection. In  youth  he  was  an  eminently  handsome 
man  and  in  maturer  years  his  presence  was  impos- 
ing. Sailors  and  Indians  are  fond  of  giving  person- 
ally descriptive  names  to  those  with  whom  they  are 
thrown  in  contact ;  when  Tucker  was  a  lieutenant  he 
was  called  "  Handsome  Jack  "  by  the  men-before- 
the-mast,  and  the  warriors  of  the  savage  tribes  that 
wander  about  the  head  waters  of  the  Amazon  knew 
him  as  the  "  Apo,"  the  meaning  of  the  word  being 
"  High  Chief." 

In  concluding  this  sketch  of  the  eventful  life  of 
John  Randolph  Tucker,  it  is  but  doing  justice  to  his 
memory  to  say  that  the  sea-service  never  produced 
a  more  thorough  and  accomplished  sailor,  and  that 
there  never  was  bred  to  the  profession  of  arms  a 
more  honorable  and  gallant  gentleman. 


JAMES  HENRY  ROCHELLE 


NOTES 


ON  THE 


Navigation  of  the  Upper  Amazon 


AND  ITS 


PRINCIPAL  TRIBUTARIES 


BY 


CAPTAIN  JAMES  HENRY  ROCHELLE 


Member  of  the  late  Peruvian  Hydrographical  Commission  of 
the  Amazon. 


NOTES. 
THE  AMAZON. 

Springing  from  Lake  Laracocha,  in  the  heart  of 
the  Andes,  the  Amazon  winds  its  way  through  the 
eastern  Cordillera  of  Peru,  a  rapid  and  turbulent 
stream,  until,  passing  through  a  narrow  gorge  in 
the  mountains  at  the  pongo  de  Manseriche,  it  leaps 
into  the  lowlands  and  flows  for  two  thousand  six 
hundred  and  sixty  miles  in  a  direction  nearly  east 
through  the  vast  plains  of  Peru  and  Brazil,  fed  on  its 
way  by  tributaries  which  are  themselves  great  rivers, 
and  finally  pouring  its  immense  volume  of  water  into 
the  Atlantic  ocean.  From  the  Atlantic  up  to  the  Pe- 
ruvian frontier  the  river  is  known  as  the  Lower  or 
Brazilian  Amazon,  and  sometimes  as  the  Solimoens ; 
above  the  Brazilian  frontier  the  river  lies  wholly  in 
Peruvian  territory  and  takes  the  name  of  the  Peru- 
vian Amazon  or  Marafion,  but  is  commonly  spoken 
of  as  the  Upper  Amazon.  It  is  of  the  navigation  of 
the  Upper  Amazon  that  these  notes  will  treat. 

RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  RIVER. 

The  waters  of  the  Upper  Amazon  and  its  tribu- 
taries begins  to  rise  annually  in  October,  remains  sta- 
tionary for  a  short  time  in  December,  then  continues 
to  rise  until  May,  when  it  commences  to  fall.  No- 
vember, December,  January,  February,  March  and 


84  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

April  are  considered  the  months  of  high  water,  and 
June,  July,  August  and  September  comprise  the  low- 
water  season.  October  and  May  are  sometimes 
months  of  high  and  sometimes  of  low  water. 

DEPTH  OF  WATER. 

During  the  season  of  low  water  a  minimum  depth 
of  twenty-four  feet  is  found  in  the  channel  of  the 
Upper  Amazon,  from  the  Brazilian  frontier  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Ucayali  river  at  Nanta,  eighteen  feet 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Ucayali  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Huallaga  river,  and  twelve  feet  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Huallaga  to  Borja,  where  further  navigation  is 
rendered  impracticable  by  the  rapids  and  falls  of  the 
pongo  de  Manseriche. 

CURRENT. 

From  the  Brazilian  frontier  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Ucayali  river  the  current  of  the  Amazon  is  three 
miles  per  hour;  from  the  mouth  of  the  Ucayali  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Potro  river  three  and  one-fourth 
miles  per  hour;  from  the  mouth  of  the  Potro  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Morona  river  three  and  a-half  miles 
per  hour;  and  from  the  mouth  of  the  Morona  to 
Borja,  at  the  head  of  steamer  navigation,  the  current 
is  three  and  three-fourths  miles  per  hour.  This  is  the 
usual  and  average  current  to  be  met  with,  but  it  in- 
creases or  diminishes  with  the  rise  and  fall  of  the 
river  and,  also,  with  the  narrowing  or  broadening  of 
the  channel. 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.  85 

PILOTS. 

In  order  to  prevent  running  upon  sand-bars,  which 
are  constantly  forming  and  shifting  and  frequently 
changing  the  bed  of  the  channel,  the  services  of  ex- 
perienced pilots  are  indispensable  to  the  safe  naviga- 
tion of  the  Upper  Amazon  and  its  tributaries.  It  is 
not  difficult  to  obtain  such  pilots,  and  they  are  fre- 
quently expert  hunters  and  fishermen  as  well  as 
pilots. 

BEST  TIME  FOR  NAVIGATING  THE  RIVER. 

When  a  steamer  on  the  Upper  Amazon  runs 
aground,  it  is  almost  always  in  consequence  either  of 
the  ignorance  of  the  pilot  or  of  the  unskillful  han- 
dling of  the  vessel.  To  get  aground  when  the  water 
is  falling  endangers  the  detention  of  the  vessel  until 
she  is  floated  off  by  the  next  rise  of  the  river,  which 
may  not  occur  for  months ;  getting  aground  when  the 
water  is  rising  usually  necessitates  a  delay  of  only  a 
few  hours,  as  the  rising  water  soon  floats  the  vessel 
off.  Hence  it  is,  of  course,  that  the  navigation  of  the 
Amazon  is  attended  with  much  less  difficulty  when 
the  waters  of  the  river  are  rising  than  when  they  are 
falling. 

FUEL. 

Coal  is  not  to  be  found  on  the  Upper  Amazon ;  the 
steamers  burn  wood,  which  is  abundant,  cheap  and 
makes  good  fuel.  Wood  should  be  ordered  in  ad- 
vance at  certain  points,  but  in  case  a  steamer  gives 
out  of  fuel  all  that  has  to  be  done  is  to  haul  in  to  the 


86  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

bank,  send  the  crew  on  shore  with  axes,  and  cut  as 
much  wood  as  is  required. 

DISCHARGING  AND  RECEIVING  CARGO. 

In  the  absence  of  wharves  on  the  Upper  Amazon 
and  its  tributaries,  vessels  lay  alongside  of  the  banks 
whilst  discharging  or  receiving  cargo.  The  banks 
at  the  usual  stopping  places  afford  good  landings; 
wharves  are  not  needed  and  it  would  be  difficult  to 
construct  them  so  that  they  could  be  used  at  all  stages 
of  the  water. 

IMPORTS. 

It  may  be  well  to  say  a  word  about  the  trade  of 
the  Upper  Amazon.  There  are  no  import  or  export 
duties  for  this  part  of  Peru,  nor  are  any  duties  paid 
on  goods  passing  up  the  Brazilian  Amazon  to  Peru. 
Coarse  cotton  cloth  is  worn  by  nine-tenths  of  the  in- 
habitants who  are  civilized  enough  to  wear  clothes  at 
all.  The  demand  for  this  cloth  is  large  and  will  grow 
from  year  to  year,  and  of  all  coarse  cotton  cloth  in 
the  market  the  American  is  preferred.  The  plantain 
is  the  native  substitute  for  bread,  but  wheat  flour  is 
used  by  the  mercantile  and  official  classes ;  there  is  a 
steady  demand  for  Baltimore  and  Richmond  flour, 
which  brands  are  supposed,  probably  with  reason, 
to  stand  the  climate  better  than  flour  manufactured 
elsewhere.  Bacon  hams  sell  for  one  dollar  per 
pound,  but  the  demand  for  them  is  small  and  tl-e 
article  is  soon  spoiled  by  the  climate.  Axes,  hoes, 
spades  and  machettes  are  much  in  demand,  and  there 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        87 

is  a  limited  demand  for  improved  firearms;  ready 
made  clothing,  and  articles  of  household  furniture 
for  the  houses  of  the  richer  persons  of  the  com- 
munity, are  usually  imported  from  Europe. 

EXPORTS. 

The  exports  of  the  region  of  the  Upper  Amazon 
are  not  as  valuable  as  they  are  destined  to  become 
when  the  productions  of  the  rich  valleys  of  eastern 
Peru  find  an  outlet  to  market  by  way  of  the  river. 
Among  the  principal  articles  of  export  may  be  enu- 
merated, hats,  from  Mayubamba  (Panama  hats)  ; 
rum,  made  from  the  sugar  cane  (cachaqa)  ;  dried  fish 
(payshi)  ;  and  Indian  rubber  (jebe).  The  Indian- 
rubber  tree  abounds  in  the  forests  of  the  Upper 
Amazon,  and  the  gathering  of  the  gum  is  a  profitable 
industry.  Specimens  of  gold  have  been  obtained 
from  the  natives  about  the  pongo  de  Manseriche,  and 
rich  deposits  of  the  precious  metal  will  without  doubt 
be  discovered  at  some  future  time,  but  no  search 
even  can  be  made  for  it  until  the  fierce  and  cruel  sav- 
ages, who  have  undisputed  possession  of  the  country 
beyond  Borja,  shall  have  been  subdued. 

MOUTH  OF  THE  YAVARI  RIVER. 

Commencing  at  the  Yavari  river,  which  forms  the 
boundary  between  Peru  and  Brazil  on  the  south  side 
of  the  Amazon  river,  and  following  the  Upper  Ama- 
zon and  its  principal  tributaries  up  to  the  head  of 
navigation,  the  first  place  to  be  noted  is  the  mouth  of 


88  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

the  Yavari  river:*  Latitude  4°  18'  45"  south;  longi- 
tude, 69°  53'  10"  west  of  Greenwich;  magnetic  varia- 
tion, 5°  38'  54"  east;  thermometer  (Fahrenheit),  76° ; 
elevation  above  sea-level,  266  feet ;  distance  from  the 
Atlantic  ocean,  following  the  course  of  the  river,  1811 
miles;  current,  in  the  Amazon,  4^  miles  per  hour; 
width  of  the  Yavari  river  at  its  mouth,  500  yards; 
width  of  the  Amazon,  1200  yards;  depth  of  water  in 
the  channel  of  the  Amazon,  36  feet.  As  the  Yavari 
river  marks  the  boundary  between  Peru  and  Brazil 
on  the  south  side  of  the  Amazon,  special  pains  were 
taken  to  ascertain  correctly  the  latitude  and  longitude 
of  its  mouth;  the  observations  for  the  latitude  and 
longitude  were  taken  on  a  small  islet,  probably  over- 
flowed at  high  water,  in  the  middle  of  the  lower 
mouth  of  the  river. 

It  was  said  in  Iquitos  that,  in  1874,  Captain  Guil- 
lermo  Black,  President  of  the  Peruvian  Boundary 
Commission,  ascended  the  Yavari  in  a  small  steamer 
a  distance  of  500  miles  from  its  mouth,  and  300  miles 
farther  in  canoes  to  a  point  where  there  was  barely 
two  feet  of  water  in  the  channel,  at  which  point  the 
latitude  was  determined  to  be  7°  i'  22"  south,  and  the 
longitude  74°  8'  25"  west  of  Greenwich;  elevation 
above  the  sea-level,  800  feet. 


*The  latitudes,  longitudes  and  other  data  given  in  these 
notes  are  taken  from  the  journal  of  the  Peruvian  Hydro- 
grpphical  Commission  of  the  Amazon.  Some  of  them 
have  been  published,  by  permission,  in  the  third  edition 
of  Professor  Orton's  "  Andes  and  the  Amazon." 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER. 

TABATINGA    (BRAZIL). 

Distance  from  the  Atlantic,  1825  miles;  current, 
4^  miles  per  hour ;  depth  of  water,  36  feet ;  width  of 
river,  800  yards. 

Tabatinga  is  the  Brazilian  frontier  post  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Amazon.  Captain  Azevedo,  of  the 
Brazilian  Navy,  gives  the  latitude  of  this  place  as 
4°  14'  30"  south ;  longitude,  70°  2'  24"  west  of  Green- 
wich ;  magnetic  variation,  6°  35'  10"  east. 

LETITIA. 

Latitude,  4°  10'  57"  south;  longitude,  69°  59'  21" 
west  of  Greenwich;  magnetic  variation,  5°  57'  40" 
east;  elevation  above  sea-level,  274  feet;  distance 
from  the  Atlantic,  1828  miles. 

Letitia  is  the  Peruvian  frontier  post  on  the  north 
bank  of  the  Amazon.  A  fort,  intended  to  command 
the  passage  of  the  river,  was  projected  but  not  erect- 
ed at  this  point.  It  is  probable  that  the  passage  of 
steamers  up  the  Amazon  cannot  be  stopped  by  forts 
and  batteries  at  any  point  on  the  river  below  Tams- 
hiyacu. 

LORETO. 

Latitude,  3°  54'  20"  south;  longitude,  70°  7'  45" 
west  of  Greenwich;  magnetic  variation,  5°  n'  24" 
east ;  thermometer,  78° ;  elevation  above  sea-level,  286 
feet ;  distance  from  the  Atlantic,  1865  miles ;  current, 
3  miles  per  hour;  width  of  river,  1300 yards. 

Loreto  is  the  most  eastern  Peruvian  town  of  any 
importance  on  the  Amazon.  It  is  situated  on  the 


90  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

north  or  left  bank  of  the  river.    Near  it  resides  a  tribe 
of  Indians,  partly  civilized,  called  the  Ticunas. 


CAMACHEROS. 


Situated  on  the  right  or  south  bank  of  the  river; 
current  2|  miles  per  hour;  width  of  river,  1800  yards. 


MAUCALLACTA. 


Situated  on  the  right  or  south  bank  of  the  river; 
width  of  river,  2500  yards. 


PEBAS. 


One  mile  from  the  Amazon,  on  the  left  or  north 
bank,  and  one  mile  up  the  River  Ambiyacu.  The  cur- 
rent of  the  Amazon  at  Pebas  is  2\  miles  per  hour; 
distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2009  miles. 


ORAM. 

On  south  or  right  bank  of  the  river;  current,  2\ 
miles  per  hour;  width  of  river,  1000  yards;  depth  of 
water,  36  feet. 

IQUITOS. 

Latitude,  3°  44'  15"  south;  longitude,  73°  7'  30" 
west  of  Greenwich ;  magnetic  variation,  5°  55'  east ; 
thermometer,  78° ;  elevation  above  sea-level,  295  feet ; 
distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2126  miles;  current,  3 
miles  per  hour;  depth  of  water,  36  feet. 

Iquitos  is  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Amazon,  at  a 
point  where  the  river  is  divided  by  an  island  into  two 
channels ;  from  the  town  to  the  island  the  river  is  1800 
yards  wide,  and  the  channel  on  the  other  side  of  the 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        91 

island  has  about  the  same  width.  The  Government 
buildings  and  works  are  situated  at  this  place,  and  it 
is  the  largest  and  most  important  town  on  the  Upper 
Amazon.  It  is  a  place  of  considerable  trade,  and  in  it 
are  established  several  mercantile  houses  which  im- 
port their  goods  directly  from  Europe  and  the  United 
States  by  way  of  Para.  The  anchorage  is  good  at  all 
times,  and  vessels,  whilst  discharging  or  receiving 
cargo,  can  lay  in  security  alongside  the  high  bank  that 
lines  the  whole  front  of  the  town.  This  is  an  advan- 
tage not  to  be  underrated  when  it  is  remembered  that 
there  are  no  wharves  on  the  Upper  Amazon. 

TAMSHIYACU. 

Situated  on  a  high  bank  on  the  south  side  of  the 
river,  distant  2146  miles  from  the  Atlantic;  ther- 
mometer, 76°.  At  this  place  the  river  is  narrow,  has 
only  one  channel,  and  the  current  is  strong.  It  is 
probably  the  only  position  on  the  Amazon,  below  the 
mouth  of  the  Ucayali,  where  vessels  could  be  pre- 
vented from  passing,  up  or  down,  by  heavy  guns 
mounted  in  forts  or  batteries. 

MOUTH  OF  THE  UCAYALI  RIVER. 

Latitude,  4°  28'  30"  south;  longitude,  73°  21'  30" 
west  of  Greenwich;  magnetic  variation,  7°  2'  east; 
thermometer,  80° ;  elevation  above  sea-level,  318  feet ; 
distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2189  miles;  current  in  the 
Amazon,  3  miles  per  hour;  depth  of  water  in  the 
channel  of  the  Amazon,  30  feet;  width  of  the  Ama- 
zon, 1300  yards.  Unfortunately,  immediately  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Ucavali  neither  the  banks  of  that  river 


92  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

nor  those  of  the  Amazon  afford  a  place  suitable  for 
the  location  of  a  town.  Nauta,  on  the  north  bank  of 
the  Amazon,  seven  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the 
Ucayali,  is  the  nearest  place  at  which  it  is  practicable 
to  build  houses  not  liable  to  be  swept  away  by  the 
annual  floods. 

NAUTA. 

Latitude,  4°  31'  30"  south;  longitude,  73°  27'  west 
of  Greenwich;  magnetic  variation,  7°  2'  east;  ther- 
mometer, 78° ;  elevation  above  sea-level,  320  feet ;  dis- 
tance from  the  Atlantic,  2195  miles;  current  3^  miles 
per  hour;  depth  of  water,  30  feet;  width  of  river, 
1 200  yards.  Situated  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Ama- 
zon, near  the  confluence  of  that  river  and  the  Ucayali, 
Nauta  is  well  located  for  grasping  the  trade  of  both 
rivers,  and  ought  to  become  a  place  of  importance. 
Of  course,  the  six  or  seven  miles  that  vessels  have  to 
ascend  the  Amazon  to  reach  the  place  after  leaving  the 
Ucayali  constitutes  a  drawback,  especially  in  the  case 
of  vessels  not  propelled  by  steam;  but  no  desirable 
place  can  be  found  below  and  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Ucayali  where  buildings  could  be  erected  and  vessels 
could  load  and  unload  with  facility  at  the  season  of 
high  water.  Below  and  adjoining  Nauta  the  banks 
are  high  and  present  a  better  site  for  a  town  than  the 
one  on  which  it  stands. 

SAN  REGIS. 

Distant  from  the  Atlantic  2230  miles ;  current,  tfA 
miles  per  hour ;  average  current  between  Nauta  and 
San  Regis,  3^  miles  per  hour. 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.  93 

MOUTH    OF  THE  TIGREYACU  RIVER. 

Distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2245  miles ;  current,  3^ 
miles  per  hour;  average  current  between  San  Regis 
and  the  mouth  of  the  Tigreyacu,  3^  miles  per  hour. 
The  Tigreyacu  can  be  navigated  by  steamers  of  con- 
siderable size  for  some  distance ;  its  waters  are  dark 
and  clear,  and  those  tributaries  of  the  Amazon  having 
dark  and  clear  waters  are  usually  unhealthy,  whilst 
those  having  muddy  and  discolored  waters  have 
always  been  found  to  be  healthy. 

SANTA  CRUZ  DE  PARINARI. 

Latitude,  4°  36'  30"  south ;  longitude  74°  6'  30"  west 
of  Greenwich ;  magnetic  variation,  7°  27'  20"  east ; 
thermometer,  78° ;  elevation  above  sea-level,  351  feet; 
distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2273  miles ;  current,  3^ 
miles  per  hour. 

PARANARI. 

Distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2293  miles ;  current,  3^ 
miles  per  hour. 

VACA   MARINA. 

Distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2334  miles ;  current,  3^ 
miles  per  hour. 

ELVIRA. 

Distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2352  miles ;  current,  3^ 
miles  per  hour. 

SAN  PEDRO. 

Distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2393  miles ;  current,  3^ 
miles  per  hour. 


94  .         LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

FONTEVERA. 

Distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2408  miles ;  current,  3 J 
miles  per  hour. 

MOUTH  OF  THE  HUALLAGA  RIVER. 

Distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2430  miles ;  current  in 
Amazon,  3!  miles  per  hour.  One  hundred  and  twen- 
ty-three miles  up  the  Huallaga  is  the  town  of  Yuri- 
maguas,  a  centre  of  trade,  to  which  steamers  from 
Para  frequently  ascend. 

CEDRO  ISLA. 

Distant  from  the  Atlantic  2445  miles ;  current,  3^ 
miles  per  hour. 

MOUTH  OF  THE  PASTAGA  RIVER. 

Distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2514  miles;  current  in 
the  Amazon,  3^  miles  per  hour.  The  Pastaga  has  a 
rapid  current  and  is  full  of  obstructions  to  naviga- 
tion; it  is  with  much  difficulty  that  canoes  even  can 
be  forced  up  the  river  for  any  distance.  On  its  head 
waters  the  Indians  wash  a  considerable  quantity  of 
gold  from  the  sand  of  the  bed  of  the  channel. 

BARRANCA. 

Latitude,  4°  59'  53"  south;  longitude,  76°  38'  38" 
west  of  Greenwich ;  magnetic  variation,  7°  46'  26" 
east ;  thermometer,  78° ;  elevation  above  sea-level,  453 
feet ;  distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2545  miles ;  current, 
3^  miles  per  hour.  Barranca  is  situated  on  a  red  clay 
bluff,  about  seventy  feet  high,  on  the  north  or  left 
bank  of  the  river,  which  is  here  narrow.  Communi- 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        95 

cation  is  kept  up  between  Barranca  and  Moyabamba 
by  way  of  the  Aypena  river  to  its  head  and  thence  by 
land.  Barranca  has  been  used  as,  but  is  not  well 
adapted  to  be,  a  military  post ;  gunboats  could  lay  out 
of  sight  below,  around  a  bend  of  the  river,  and  shell 
it  without  being  themselves  exposed  to  its  fire. 

MOUTH  OF  THE  POTRO  RIVER. 

Distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2564  miles ;  current,  3^ 
miles  per  hour.  The  Potro  is  navigable  for  small 
steamers  a  distance  of  sixty  miles  from  its  mouth,  and 
is  of  importance  as  a  link  in  the  projected  route  from 
Chachapoyas  to  Limon  on  the  Amazon. 

MOUTH  OF  THE  MORONA  RIVER. 

Distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2576  miles ;  current,  3^ 
miles  per  hour.  Steamers  ascend  the  Morona  300 
miles,  and  at  some  stages  of  the  water  a  greater  dis- 
tance. 

LIMON. 

Distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2588  miles ;  current,  3! 
miles  per  hour.  Limon  is  the  terminus  of  a  projected 
route  from  Chachapoyas  to  the  Amazon ;  it  is  a  place 
of  no  importance  whatever  in  any  other  respect. 

PUNTA  ACHUAL. 

Latitude,  4°  15'  27"  south;  longitude  77°  i'  28" 
west  of  Greenwich;  magnetic  variation,  8°  18'  18" 
east ;  thermometer,  80° ;  elevation  above  sea-level, 
509  feet ;  distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2612  miles ;  cur- 
rent, 3!  miles  per  hour.  Two  miles  above  Punta 
Achual,  at  the  Vuelta  Calentura,  or  Calentura  pas- 


96  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

sage,  the  first  serious  difficulty  is  encountered  in  nav- 
igating the  Upper  Amazon ;  the  difficulty  there  en- 
countered is  a  strong  current  combined  with  a  whirl- 
pool in  the  channel  of  the  river,  but,  with  full  heads 
of  steam  on,  steamers  are  able  to  pass  the  vuelta  and 
proceed  on  to  Borja.  At  Vuelta  Calentura  the  course 
of  the  river  is  from  N.  N.  W.  to  S.  S.  E. 

BORJA. 

Latitude,  4°  31'  37"  south;  longitude,  77°  29'  43" 
west  of  Greenwich ;  thermometer,  76° ;  elevation 
above  sea-level,  516  feet;  distance  from  the  Atlantic, 
2660  miles ;  current,  3!  miles  per  hour.  At  Borja  the 
navigation  of  the  Upper  Amazon  ends ;  the  river  in  its 
whole  course  from  Laracocha  to  Borja,  a  distance  of 
500  miles,  is  a  mountain  torrent,  impracticable  for 
navigation  even  by  canoes.  The  length  of  the  Ama- 
zon, from  its  source  at  Laracocha  to  the  Atlantic 
ocean,  is  3160  miles,  but  the  distance  from  the  Atlantic 
to  the  source  of  the  Ucayali  is  still  greater.  It  usually 
takes  a  steamer  69  steaming  hours  to  ascend  the  river 
from  Iquitos  to  Borja,  and  35  steaming  hours  to 
descend  from  Borja  to  Iquitos. 

DISTANCES. 

In  the  following  list  of  distances  between  places 
on  the  Amazon,  from  its  mouth  to  its  source  in  Lake 
Laracocha,  the  distances  for  the  Lower  Amazon  are 
taken  from  the  best  Brazilian  authorities  that  could 
be  consulted ;  the  distances  for  the  Upper  Amazon, 
from  the  Brazilian  frontier  to  the  head  of  steamer 
navigation  at  Borja,  wrere  measured  by  the  Peruvian 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        97 

Hydrographical  Commission  of  the  Amazon ;  and  the 
distance  from  Borja,  the  head  of  navigation,  to  the 
source  of  the  river  in  Lake  Laracocha,  is  given  as 
estimated  by  the  best  Peruvian  authorities. 

LIST  OF  DISTANCES  ON  THE  AMAZON. 

Lower 

Amazon. 

Miles. 

Atlantic  ocean  to  Para 75 

Para  to  Breves 146 

Breves  to  Garupa 123 

Garupa  to  Porto  de  Moz 48 

Porto  de  Moz  to  Prainha 96 

Brainha  to  Monte  Alegre 44 

Monte  Alegre  to  Santarem 60 

Santarem  to  Obidos 68 

Obidos  to  Villa  Bella 95 

Villa  Bella  to  Serpa 137 

Serpa  to  Manaos no 

From  the  Atlantic  to  Manaos,  1002  miles. 

Manaos  to  Cudajos 155 

Cudajos  to  Coary 84 

Coary  to  Tefe  (Ega) 107 

Tefe  (Ega)  to  Fonte  Boa 133 

Fonte  Boa  to  Tonantius 140 

Tonantius  to  San  Paulo 95 

San  Paulo,  mouth  of  the  Yavari  river 90 

The  mouth  of  the  Yavari  marks  the  boundary  line  be- 
tween Peru  and  Brazil  on  the  south  side  of  the  Am- 
azon. 

Mouth  of  the  Yavari  to  Tabatinga 14 

Brazilian  frontier  port  on  the  north  side  of  the  Amazon. 
From  the  Atlantic  to  Tabatinga,  1825  miles. 

Tabatinga  to  Letitia 3 

Peruvian  frontier  post. 


98  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

Upper 
Amazon. 

Miles. 

Letitia  to  Loreto 37 

Loreto  to  Pebas 144 

Pebas  to  Iquitos 117 

Iquitos  to  Tamshiyacu 20 

Tamshiyacu  to  mouth  of  the  Ucayali  river 43 

Mouth  of  the  Ucayali  river  to  Nauta 6 

Nauta  to  San  Regis 5° 

San  Regis  to  Santa  Cruz  de  Parinasi 28 

Santa  Cruz  de  Parinari  to  Parinari 20 

Parinari  to  Vaca  Marina 41 

Vaca  Marina  to  Elvira 18 

Elvira  to  San  Pedro 41 

San  Pedro  to  Fontevera 15 

Fontevera  to  mouth  of  the  Huallaga  river 22 

Mouth  of  the  Hullaga  river  to  Cedro  Isla 15 

Cedro  Isla  to  mouth  of  the  Pastaza  river 69 

Mouth  of  the  Pastaza  river  to  Barranca 31 

Barranca  to  Mouth  of  the  Potro  river 19 

Mouth  of  the  Potro  river  to  mouth  of  the  Mo- 

rona  river 12 

Mouth  of  the  Morona  river  to  Limon 12 

Limon  to  Punta  Achual 24 

Punta  Achual  to  Borja 48 

From  the  Atlantic  to  Borja,  the  head  of  navigation,  2660 
miles. 

Borja  to  Lake  Laracocha 500 

Source  of  the  Amazon. 

Length  of  the  Amazon  river  from  its  source  to  its 
mouth,  3160  miles. 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.  99 

HUALLAGA  RIVER. 

The  Huallaga  has  its  source  in  Lake  Chiquicoba, 
flows  by  the  important  central  city  of  Huanaco,  and 
thence  in  a  direction  nearly  north,  for  450  miles,  until 
its  confluence  with  the  Amazon.  The  mouth  of  the 
Huallaga  is  2430  miles  distant  from  the  Atlantic,  and 
its  current  is  about  3  miles  per  hour.  Eighteen  feet 
of  water  can  usually  be  carried  up  to  Yurimaguas, 
and  steamers  ascend  40  miles  higher  to  a  place  called 
Rumicallarina ;  above  Rumicallarina  the  river  is  nav- 
igable for  a  great  distance  by  canoes.  About  8  miles 
below  Yurimaguas  the  river  is  divided  by  an  island, 
on  each  side  of  which  there  are  sand-bars  that  steam- 
ers drawing  more  than  n  feet  of  water  are  some- 
times unable  to  pass  during  the  months  of  June,  July 
and  August. 

LACUNA. 

Distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2447  miles ;  current,  3 
miles  per  hour. 

SANTA  LUCIA. 

Distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2473  miles ;  current,  3 
miles  per  hour. 

SANTA   MARIA. 

Distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2528  miles ;  current,  3 
miles  per  hour. 

YURIMAGUAS. 

Latitude,  5°  5'  55"  south;  longitude,  75"  59'  58" 
west  of  Greenwich ;  magnetic  variation,  7°  47'  east ; 


100  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

thermometer,  77° ;  elevation  above  sea-level,  440  feet ; 
distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2554  miles;  current,  3^ 
miles  per  hour. 

The  advantage  which  Yurimaguas  possesses  over 
all  the  other  river  ports  on  the  Upper  Amazon  is  that 
of  its  being  the  point  where  travelers  from  Lima  and 
articles  of  export  from  Moyubamba,  a  city  of  10,000 
inhabitants,  meet  the  steamers  from  Para.  Canoes 
ascend  the  Huallaga  from  Yurimaguas  to  Chasuta  in 
eight  days  and  make  the  return  trip  in  three;  from 
Chasuta  there  is  a  mule  road  to  Moyubamba,  Chacha- 
poyas  and  Cajamarca,  and  from  the  latter  place  a  rail- 
way runs  to  Lima.  This  is  the  best  route  from  the 
Amazon  to  the  Pacific  coast,  and  the  only  one  which 
does  not  involve  long  marches  on  foot.  Steamers 
drawing  five  or  six  feet  of  water  could  make  regular 
trips  to  Chasuta  at  any  season  of  the  year,  even  at 
lowest  water,  and  meeting  larger  steamers  at  Yurima- 
guas would  establish  better  communication  with  the 
rich  country  of  the  interior.  On  the  Huallaga,  above 
Yurimaguas  and  a  little  back  from  the  river,  are  to  be 
found  the  best  locations  for  colonies.  Thirty  miles 
above  Yurimaguas,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  is 
situated  Shucushiyacu,  a  place  well  known  as  com- 
manding a  fine  view  of  mountain  and  river  scenery. 

CAINARACHI. 

Distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2592  miles ;  current,  3^ 
miles  per  hour. 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        101 

RUMICALLARINA. 

Latitude,  5°  58'  32"  south;  longitude,  75°  47'  32" 
west  of  Greenwich ;  magnetic  variation,  8°  8'  10"  east ; 
thermometer,  77° ;  elevation  above  sea-level,  486  feet ; 
distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2600  miles;  current,  3^ 
miles  per  hour;  depth  of  water,  36  feet;  width  of 
river,  200  yards. 

Rumicallarina  is  at  the  head  of  navigation  for 
steamers  on  the  Huallagu.  Any  steamer  which  can 
ascend  the  river  to  Yurimaguas  can  continue  on  to 
Rumicallarina,  beyond  which  place  only  five  or  six 
feet,  at  the  season  of  low  water,  can  be  carried  to 
Chasuta. 

LIST  OF  DISTANCES  ON  THE  HUALLAGA. 

Atlantic  ocean  to  mouth  of  the  Huallaga,  2430  miles 
By  the  Amazon  river. 

Huallaga 
River. 
Miles. 

Mouth  of  the  Huallaga  to  Laguna 17 

Laguna  to  Santa  Lucia 26 

Santa  Lucia  to  Santa  Maria 55 

Santa  Maria  to  Yurimaguas 26 

Yurimaguas  to  Cainarachi 38 

Cainarachi  to  Rumicallarina 8 

Rumicallarina  to  Chasuta 50 

Chasuta  to  Lake  Chiquicoba 300 


Length  of  the  Huallaga  river 520 

Distance  from  the  source  of  the  Huallaga  to  the 

mouth  of  the  Amazon 29S° 


102  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

UCAYALI    RIVER. 

The  Ucayali  river  has  its  origin  in  the  Andean 
region,  about  Lake  Titicaca,  and  flows,  under  various 
names,  in  a  direction  nearly  north  until  it  mingles  its 
waters  with  those  of  the  Amazon,  to  which  river  it 
bears  the  same  relation  that  the  Missouri  does  to  the 
Mississippi;  that  is  to  say,  like  the  Missouri,  its 
length  and  volume  of  water  entitles  it  to  be  consid- 
ered a  continuation  and  not  a  tributary  of  the  main 
river.  During  the  season  of  low  water  24  feet  can 
be  carried  from  Nauta,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  to 
Sarayacu ;  18  feet  from  Sarayacu  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Pachitea  river;  and  12  feet  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Pachitea  to  the  confluence  of  the  Tambo  and  Uru- 
bamba.  The  average  current  from  the  mouth  of  the 
river  to  Pucacura  is  2  miles  per  hour,  and  from  Pu- 
cacura  to  the  confluence  of  the  Tambo  and  Urubamba 
3  miles  per  hour.  The  Tambo  is  probably  navigable 
for  steamers  drawing  eight  or  ten  feet  of  water  to  the 
confluence  of  the  Ene  and  Perene,  and  thence  the 
Perene  would  afford  communication,  at  least  by 
canoes,  to  San  Ramon,  a  Peruvian  military  post ;  from 
San  Ramon  to  Tarma,  and  from  Tarma  to  Lima, 
would,  of  course,  be  the  continuation  of  the  route  to 
the  Pacific  slope.  The  first  step  towards  the  opening 
of  this  most  desirable  of  all  the  routes  between  the 
Pacific  coast  and  the  Amazon  would  be  the  establish- 
ment of  a  battalion  post  at  the  confluence  of  the  Ene 
and  Perene,  communicating  at  regular  and  stated  in- 
tervals with  San  Ramon.  The  distance  between  the 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.       103 

two  posts  would  be  about  60  miles  of  canoe  naviga- 
tion, and  would  soon  become  a  traveled  route  form- 
ing the  connecting  link  between  eastern  and  western 
Peru. 

MOUTH   OF  THE  UCAYALI. 

Latitude,  4°  28'  30"  south;  longitude,  73°  21'  30" 
west  of  Greenwich;  magnetic  variation,  7°  2'  east; 
thermometer,  80° ;  elevation  above  sea-level,  318  feet ; 
distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2180  miles;  current,  2 
miles  per  hour ;  the  width  of  the  Ucayali  at  its  mouth 
is  half  a  mile. 

PUCACURA. 

Latitude,  6°  4'  45"  south ;  longitude,  75°  i'  west  of 
Greenwich ;  magnetic  variation,  7°  22'  10"  east ;  ther- 
mometer, 79° ;  elevation  above  sea-level,  377  feet ;  dis- 
tance from  the  Atlantic,  2482  miles ;  current,  3  miles 
per  hour. 

SARAYOCU. 

Latitude,  6°  35'  15"  south;  longitude,  74°  58'  30" 
west  of  Greenwich;  magnetic  variation,  7°  52'  8" 
east ;  thermometer,  79° ;  elevation  above  sea-level,  410 
feet ;  distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2578  miles ;  current, 
3  miles  per  hour ;  depth  of  water,  20  feet. 

The  town  of  Sarayacu  is  situated  on  a  small  creek, 
about  three  miles  from  the  place  on  the  river  which  is 
called  the  Puerto  del  Sarayacu.  Between  Pucacura 
and  Sarayacu  is  Esquina,  a  small  settlement  built  on 
high  land,  which  extends  along  the  river  for  a  mile 
or  more.  This  place  (Esquina)  and  Pucacura  are 


104  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

about  the  only  places  on  the  banks  of  the  Ucayali, 
below  Sarayacu,  that  are  not  overflowed  at  high 
water.  The  floods  of  the  Ucayali,  which  regularly 
recur  every  year  at  certain  seasons,  render  the  banks 
of  the  river  an  undesirable,  perhaps  even  an  imprac- 
ticable, location  for  an  agricultural  population.  It  is 
possible  that  a  crop  might  be  raised  and  gathered  dur- 
ing the  dry  season,  but  the  farms  would  have  to  be 
abandoned  whenever  the  river  rose  to  its  maximum 
height.  At  Paca,  about  twelve  miles  above  Sarayacu, 
the  banks  on  both  sides  of  the  river  are  high ;  such 
places  are  much  more  frequently  met  with  above  than 
below  Sarayacu,  but  still  they  are  the  exception  to  the 
general  character  of  the  country  near  the  river,  which 
continues  to  be  low  and  subject  to  overflow  until  the 
highlands  are  reached  near  the  confluence  of  the 
Tambo  and  Urubamba. 

PACAMASHI. 

Latitude,  7°  53'  15"  south;  longitude,  74°  40'  45" 
west  of  Greenwich;  magnetic  variation,  7°  51'  38" 
east;  thermometer,  77° ;  elevation  above  sea-level,  435 
feet ;  distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2733  miles ;  current, 
3  miles  per  hour ;  width  of  the  river,  600  yards. 

YARINACOCHA. 

Latitude,  8°  15'  south;  longitude,  74°  31'  30"  west 
of  Greenwich;  magnetic  variation,  7°  38'  30"  east; 
thermometer,  79° ;  elevation  above  sea-level,  447  feet ; 
distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2800  miles;  current,  3 
miles  per  hour;  width  of  river,  1200  yards. 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.  105 

MOUTH   OF   THE    PACHITEA   RIVER. 

Latitude,  8°  43'  30"  south;  longitude,  74°  32'  30" 
west  of  Greenwich;  magnetic  variation,  8°  45'  40" 
east ;  thermometer,  75° ;  elevation  above  sea-level,  508 
feet ;  distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2891  miles ;  current, 
3  miles  per  hour;  width  of  the  river,  600  yards. 

VUELTA  DEL  DIABLO. 

Distance  from  the  Atlantic,  3091  miles.  This  strait 
is  the  first  serious  difficulty  encountered  in  ascending 
the  Ucayali;  the  current  dashes  with  much  violence 
against  the  trunks  of  large  trees  which  lodge  in,  and 
almost  block  up,  the  passage. 

CONFLUENCE  OF  THE  TAMBO  AND  URABAMBA  RIVERS. 

Latitude,  10°  41'  south ;  longitude,  73°  41'  west  of 
Greenwich;  elevation  above  sea-level,  66 1  feet;  dis- 
tance from  the  Atlantic,  3142  miles;  depth  of  water, 
12  feet. 

ESPERANZA. 

Esperanza  is  situated  on  the  Perene  river  about  1 1 
miles  above  the  junction  of  the  Ene and  Perene,  which 
form  the  Tambo.  The  navigation  for  steamers  draw- 
ing 10  feet  of  water  terminates  at  the  junction  of  the 
Perene  and  Ene.  From  thence  to  Fort  San  Ramon,  a 
distance  of  sixty  miles,  canoes  could  navigate,  but 
with  some  difficulty,  owing  to  the  swiftness  of  the 
current,  which  at  San  Ramon  runs  at  the  rate  of  6 
miles  per  hour.  Small  stern-wheel,  flat-bottomed 
steamers,  such  as  are  in  use  on  the  swift,  narrow  and 
shallow  rivers  west  of  the  Mississippi,  could  probably 


106  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

be  employed  with  success  in  establishing  communica- 
tion between  Fort  San  Ramon  and  the  Ucayali. 

LIST  OF  DISTANCES  ON   THE  UCAYALI  RIVER. 

Ucayali 
River. 
Miles. 

Atlantic  ocean  to  mouth  of  the  Ucayali 2189 

(Amazon  River.) 

Mouth  of  the  Ucayali  to  Pucacura 293 

Pucacura  to  Sarayacu 96 

Sarayacu  to  Pacamashi 155 

Pacamashi  to  Yarinacocha 67 

Yarinacocha  to  mouth  of  the  Pachitea  river.  ...  91 
Mouth  of  the  Pachitea  to  Vuelta  del  Diablo.  . . .  200 
Vuelta  del  Diablo  to  confluence  of  the  Tambo 

and  Urttbamba 51 

Confluence  of  the  Tambo  and  Urubamba  to  the 

Ucayali,  source  of  the  Urubamba  river,  a 

continuation  of  the  Ucayali 375 

Ucayali  river,  from  its  source  to  the  Atlantic.  .  .3517 
Distance  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  head  of  steamer 

navigation  on  the  Ucayali 3142 

PACHITEA   RIVER. 

The  banks  of  the  Ucayali  and  Pachitea,  at  their  con- 
fluence, are  low,  subject  to  overflow  and  unsuitable 
for  settlement.  About  nine  miles  above  its  mouth 
we  come  to  the  first  Indian  village  on  the  Pachitea, 
a  male  Conebo  hamlet,  with  nothing  to  recommend  it 
except  that  it  is  situated  on  ground  a  little  higher  than 
the  flats  which  surround  it.  On  the  left  bank  of  the 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        107 

Ucayali  a  few  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Pachitea, 
there  is  a  place  called  Hoje,  which  is  not  subject  to 
overflow  at  high  water,  but  in  other  respects  it  is  not 
an  eligible  position  for  a  town  or  post.  The  Pachitea 
is  navigable  at  low  water  for  steamers  drawing  nine 
feet  of  water  to  the  confluence  of  the  Palcazu  and 
Pichis  rivers. 

MOUTH  OF  THE  PACHITEA. 

Latitude,  8°  43'  30"  south;  longitude,  74°  32'  30" 
west  of  Greenwich ;  magnetic  variation,  8°  45'  40" 
east;  thermometer,  75° ;  elevation  above  sea-level,  508 
feet ;  distance  from  the  Atlantic,  2891  miles ;  current, 
3  miles  per  hour ;  width  of  the  Pachitea  at  its  mouth, 
400  yards. 

CUNUYACU. 

Latitude,  9°  5'  52"  south;  longitude,  74°  48'  15" 
west  of  Greenwich;  magnetic  variation,  8°  59'  26" 
east ;  elevation  above  sea-level,  557  feet ;  distance  from 
the  Atlantic,  2951  miles;  current,  2.\  miles  per  hour; 
width  of  the  river,  400  yards. 

Cunuyacu  means  hot  water,  and  is  descriptive  of 
the  place,  for  there  are  here  several  thermal  springs 
welling  up  from  the  sand  beach.  At  Chunta  Isla, 
between  the  mouth  of  the  Pachitea  and  Cunuyacu,  the 
Cashibo  Indians  frequently  attack  from  ambush 
strangers  who  are  ascending  the  river. 

INCA  ROCA. 

Latitude,  9°  g  4"  south ;  longitude,  74°  55'  45"  west 
of  Greenwich ;  magnetic  variation,  8°  6'  26"  east ;  dis- 


108  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

tance  from  the  Atlantic,  2963  miles  ;  current,  2.\  miles 
per  hour. 

Inca  Roca  is  a  rocky  beach  overhung  by  sandstone 
cliffs  sixty-five  feet  high ;  on  the  face  of  the  cliffs  are 
carved  numerous  figures,  amongst  them  the  figure  of 
the  sun  and  of  the  Llama  are  conspicuous,  hence  the 
place  was  named  Inco  Roca. 

CONFLUENCE   OF    THE    PALCAZU   AND    PICHIS    RIVERS. 

Latitude,  9°  54'  9"  south;  longitude,  74°  58'  45" 
west  of  Greenwich ;  magnetic  variation,  7°  34'  4"  east ; 
elevation  above  sea-level,  518  feet;  distance  from  the 
Atlantic,  3082  miles ;  current,  2|  miles  per  hour. 

At  the  junction  of  the  Palcazu  and  Pichis,  the  two 
rivers  forming  the  Pachitea,  there  is  high  land  suit- 
able for  a  town  or  post. 

LIST  OF  DISTANCES  ON  THE  PACHITEA  RIVER. 

Miles. 

Mouth  of  the  Pachitea  to  Cufiuyacu 60 

Cunuyacu  to  Inca  Roca 12 

Inca  Roca  to  confluence  of  the  Pichis  and  Pala- 

cazu 119 

From  the  confluence  of  the  Pichis  and  Palacazu, 

forming  the  Pachitea  river,  to  the  Atlantic .  .  3082 

PALACAZU  RIVER. 

The  Palacazu  is  a  somewhat  narrow  stream,  with  a 
current  of  3^  miles  per  hour  and  a  depth  which  at  low 
water  will  permit  a  steamer  drawing  seven  feet  of 
water  to  ascend  to  Puerto  del  Mairo. 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        109 

PUERTO  DEL  MAIRO. 

Latitude,  9°  55'  22"  south;  longitude,  75°  17'  45" 
west  of  Greenwich ;  thermometer,  75° ;  elevation 
above  sea-level,  795  feet ;  distance  from  the  Atlantic, 
3119  miles ;  current,  3^  miles  per  hour. 

Puerto  del  Mairo  is  45  miles  distant  from  the  large 
city  of  Huanaco,  which  has  constant  communication 
and  trade  with  Lima.  At  present  the  route  between 
Huanaco  and  Puerto  del  Mairo  is  only  a  footpath 
through  the  forest,  but  it  is  probable  that  a  good  road 
for  pack-mules  could  be  constructed  at  little  expense, 
and  that  a  railway  is  not  impracticable. 

PICHIS  RIVER. 

The  Pichis  is  a  branch  of  the  Pachitea  river.  The 
Cashibos  and  Campas  Indians  inhabiting  its  banks 
are  warlike  tribes  and  fiercely  oppose  all  attempts  to 
examine  their  country.  Nothing  was  known  of  the 
river,  above  its  mouth,  until  it  was  explored  and  sur- 
veyed, in  1873,  by  the  Peruvian  Hydrographical 
Commission  of  the  Amazon,  accompanied  by  a  mili- 
tary escort.  It  was  necessary  for  the  Commission  to 
bestow  names  on  notable  places  as  they  proceeded  to 
discover  them,  and  these  names  were  afterwards  used 
in  making  the  chart  of  the  river. 

MOUTH   OF  THE  PICHIS. 

Latitude,  9°  54'  9"  south;  longitude,  74°  58'  45" 
west  of  Greenwich ;  magnetic  variation,  7°  34'  4"  east ; 
elevation  above  sea-level,  618  feet ;  distance  from  the 
Atlantic,  3082  miles ;  current,  2^  miles  per  hour. 


110  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

ROCHELLE  ISLA. 

Latitude,  9°  57'  n"  south ;  longitude,  75°  2'  west  of 
Greenwich ;  magnetic  variation,  8°  35'  36"  east ;  ele- 
vation above  the  sea-level,  630  feet;  distance  from 
the  Atlantic,  3100  miles;  current,  2.\  miles  per  hour. 

Up  to  Rochelle  Isla,  named  after  the  senior  mem- 
ber of  the  Peruvian  Hydrographical  Commission, 
navigation  is  clear  and  unobstructed  for  any  steamer 
that  can  ascend  the  Pachitea ;  that  is,  for  any  steamer 
not  drawing  more  than  nine  feet  of  water.  Beyond 
this  island  the  navigation  of  the  river  becomes  much 
more  difficult,  though  not  altogether  impracticable. 
The  River  Trinidad,  so  named  on  account  of  its  hav- 
ing been  discovered  on  Trinity  Sunday,  empties  itself 
into  the  Pichis  ten  miles  above  Rochelle  Isla;  it  is  a 
fine,  large  river,  flowing  from  the  eastward,  with  deep 
water  and  a  current  of  3  miles  per  hour  at  its  mouth. 

TEMPEST  AD   PLAYA. 

Latitude,  10°  5'  6"  south;  longitude,  74°  55'  45" 
west  of  Greenwich ;  magnetic  variation,  7°  46'  east ; 
distance  from  the  Atlantic,  3123  miles.  Tempestad 
Playa  received  its  name  in  consequence  of  a  violent 
tempest  which  was  there  encountered  by  the  namers. 

MOUTH   OF  THE  HBRRERAYACU  RIVER. 

Latitude,  10°  20'  3"  soutfc  •  longitude,  74°  54'  west 
of  Greenwich;  magnetic  variation,  7°  59'  26"  east; 
distance  from  the  Atlantic,  3156  miles. 

The  Herrerayacu  river  was  named  after  the  major 
who  commanded  the  escort  of  soldiers  accompanying 


JOHN  RANDOLPH  TUCKER.        Ill 

the  Hydrographical  Commission ;  it  has  a  current  of 
3^  miles  per  hour,  and  is  navigable  for  canoes  a  dis- 
tance of  four  or  five  miles,  up  to  Terminacion  Playa 
in  latitude  10°  22'  33"  south ;  longitude,  74°  54'  west 
of  Greenwich.  Mountain  ranges  are  plainly  in  sight 
from  Terminacion  Playa,  which  is  3160  miles  distant 
from  the  Atlantic. 

PUERTO  TUCKER. 

Latitude,  10°  22'  55"  south;  longitude,  74°  49'  west 
of  Greenwich ;  magnetic  variation,  9°  7'  30"  east ;  ele- 
vation above  sea-level,  700  feet;  distance  from  the 
Atlantic,  3167  miles;  current,  3^  miles  per  hour. 

Puerto  Tucker  was  named  after  the  President  of 
the  Hydrographical  Commission.  It  is  at  the  head  of 
canoe  navigation,  not  far  from  the  source,  of  the 
Pichis  river ;  from  it  a  range  of  lofty  mountains,  dis- 
tant some  twenty  or  thirty  miles,  bears  from  S.  to 
S.  W.  This  range  must  be  the  eastern  Cordillera  of 
Peru. 

LIST  OF  DISTANCES  ON  THE  PICHIS  RIVER. 

Miles. 

Mouth  of  the  Pichis  to  the  Atlantic  ocean 3082 

Mouth  of  the  Pichis  to  Rochelle  Isla 18 

Rochelle  Isla  to  mouth  of  Trinidad  river 10 

Mouth  of  Trinidad  river  to  Tempestad  Playa.  .  13 
Tempestad  Playa  to  mouth  of  the  Herrerayacu .  33 
Mouth  of  the  Herrerayacu  to  Puerto  Tucker .  .  1 1 
Puerto  Tucker  to  Atlantic  ocean 3167 


112  LIFE  OF  REAR  ADMIRAL 

CONCLUSION. 

The  Upper  Amazon  river  is  destined  to  become 
much  better  known  than  it  is  at  present ;  it  cannot  be 
long  before  commerce  takes  possession  of  such  an 
inviting  field.  Ocean  steamers  run  regularly  to 
Mafiaos,  a  thousand  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  and  they  might  extend  their  voyage,  certainly 
during  nine  months  in  the  year,  to  Nauta  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Ucayali;  from  Nauta  smaller  steamers  could 
ascend  the  Amazon  to  Borja,  the  Huallaga  to  Yuri- 
maguas,  and  the  Ucayali  to  the  confluence  of  the 
Tambo  and  Urubamba.  A  road  is  projected  from 
Limon,  near  Borja,  to  Chachapoyas,  where  it  would 
connect  with  the  route  to  Lima.  From  Yurimaguas 
to  Mayubamba,  and  thence  on  to  Lima,  there  is 
already  established  a  much  traveled  route.  From 
Esperanza,  near  the  confluence  of  the  Tambo  and 
Urubamba;  it  is  probable  that  flat-bottomed,  stern- 
wheel  steamers,  such  as  are  used  on  the  Nicaragua 
route  across  Central  America,  could  ascend  the 
Tambo  to  Fort  San  Ramon,  a  place  which  it  is  to  be 
hoped  will  be  connected  by  railway  with  Tarma  and 
Lima.  When  this  latter  route  is  opened,  as  it  is 
destined  to  be  sooner  or  later,  it  will  become  the  great 
artery  of  communication  between  the  Pacific  and  At- 
lantic coasts  of  South  America. 


THE  LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
LOS  ANGELES 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


JUN  4     1952 

AUG14  1975 


Form  L9 — 15m-10, '48(61039)444 


er. 


Roehelle   - 
Life   of  Bear 


Randolph  Tuck-  • 


001  155  603     2 


E 

467.1 

T79R5 


0 


